The Awakening of One
by mmolinari
Summary: AU- Severus Snape and Harry Potter meet under very different circumstances- with Harry on the other side of the interrogation glass of Auror Snape's interrogation room. A Snape mentors Harry fic, starts with 10 year old Harry and ranges over his years at Hogwarts. More inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings** \- This story is DARK- it contains mentioning and explicit descriptions of violence and child abuse. I would not advise reading if you have any triggers related to these topics. I will post a warning if anymore potentially triggering things are added. Hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing (except the one and only Jonathan Tucker, you'll meet him laterJ)

 **Note:** This is book one of what looks like an eight book series at the moment and they are all fairly lengthy.

 **The Awakening of One**

 _Book One in the Twisted Magic Series_

 **Chapter 1- Through the Looking Glass**

There is something strangely unsettling about looking through a one way mirror. One can't help but compare it to a muggle TV show, peering into a person's life without their knowledge. Yet unlike the people behind the screen the person behind the glass is real.

Severus Snape studied the specimen through the glass, a strange ache in his chest as he thought over the charges.

Threatening the law of secrecy. Destruction of property. Arson of a magical origin. Use of deadly magic on muggles. Use of deadly magic on a minor. First degree murder on three accounts.

And the boy was only ten.

Suddenly, as if he could hear Snape's line of thought the boy's head snapped to the mirror, giving Snape the first real look at his face.

It was splattered with long dried blood, his hair sticking up in wild tufts. Snape inhaled sharply- he really was the splitting image of his father.

Except for his eyes. He had Lily's eyes and the bright green orbs were now peering straight at Severus, as if it wasn't such a one way mirror at all.

A chill ran down Snape's back as he read the expression in them. There was no fear held in the eyes of the boy who had just brutally murdered three people. In fact, his eyes held no hint of any of the negative emotions that must surely be swirling through him- instead a crushing sense of relief seemed to fill them.

The official interrogation had not started yet, but Snape saw no harm in doing a little preemptive work- finding out what was really going on in the Potter boy's mind.

"Legilemens," Snape muttered under his breath, locking eye contact with the boy.

Snape felt himself drifting into his mind but before he could make sense of any of the contorted images around him he was hit with a mental block so hard that he was blown across the room. He hit the wall with a thud that he didn't even register as his head burned in agony.

He lay there writhing with pain as commotion erupted on the other side of the glass.

The green eyed boy was straining desperately in his chains, screaming incoherently as aurors flooded into the room. Shouts filled the air as the aurors desperately tried to calm Harry.

Then one made the mistake of touching him.

With a flash of red light and a bang that resonated through the entire Ministry the man was thrown away from the child, hitting the bullet proof glass of the one way mirror so hard that it shattered around him.

This is what snapped Snape back into focus. He leapt to his feet, his vision still black around the edges from the incessant throbbing in his head.

With his wand out he cautiously approached the room that had fallen into dead silence. His ears were filled with a faint ringing. His mouth went dry as his eyes fell on the mangled bodies of the aurors who had been in the room at the time of the blast. Snape had no doubt they were all dead, or close to it.

The eerie silence was broken by a terrified whimper from the boy who stood in the middle of it, the only one completely unharmed by the incident. He was staring with wide eyes at the scene around him, trembling violently.

His gaze focused on Snape, now showing him the panicked and horrified look he would expect to see in the eyes of a child murderer. Harry backed rapidly away from the man until his back hit the wall, looking like a cornered beast.

"Harry," Snape said softly, his wand gripped so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. "Can you just take a deep breathe..."

As soon as Severus saw the look in his eyes he knew what Harry was going to do. Without even thinking he leapt forward to grab hold of Harry's arm just as he was pulled away.

For what felt like minutes Snape was pulled through tight tubes, the boy desperately trying to shake him off in the apparation. Every attempt by Harry to free himself only resulted in Snape tightening his grip, nearly screaming out in pain.

Finally the solid ground reappeared under Severus and he collapsed in a heap, landing face first into thick mud. His grip inadvertently loosened enough from shock to let the boy break free. Severus found he could barely lift his head to watch Harry run off, much less chase him.

A sudden exhaustion filled Snape and his eyes drooped as he drifted into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. They make my lifeJ

 **Chapter 2- The Cabin in the Woods**

By the time Severus started drifting back to the world a few hours later he had put the whole thing off as a deranged dream. He could not possibly have met Harry Potter, the chosen one, yesterday after he killed his entire family and destroyed his house only to have him blow up a good part of the ministry and then manage to apparate away. It was an appalling idea, no child of his age even with the best of training could have a fraction of the power needed to perform even one of these acts, not to mention the fact that the son of Gryffindors would never do such a thing.

That was when Severus inhaled a clump of dirt and coughed himself awake. His eyes opened to a deep darkness broken only by the pale moonlight shining through in patches from the thick canopy above.

Severus stood shakily, letting the sheer impact of what had just occurred sink in. He was in the middle of god knows where with the murderous child of his (deceased) best friend and worst enemy who was probably long gone by now.

As Severus looked around he was struck with an odd feeling- the feeling that he had been there before. Once his eyes accustomed to the dim moonlight he realized with a jolt where he was. His father used to take him here as a child for some "time off" after Severus had performed too much magic in front of him- accidental or otherwise- to educate him free from public view. Severus closed his eyes to the memories before visibly shaking himself. He had more important things to do.

If he remembered the forest as well as he thought he did, his father's cabin wasn't far off. Slipping his wand into his hand as an afterthought Severus slipped quietly away into the silent woods.

Severus came out onto a clearing not long after and laid eyes on the ruined remains of the cabin. Despite his initial worry, it was clear that it was not the work of magic- nature had simply taken her course through the decades the place had stood empty.

The roof had completely caved, bringing down great chunks of wall with it. The remaining walls were covered in ivy, half eaten away and emanating the earthy scent of rotting wood. The door had long since fallen off its hinges and lay forgotten on the side of the cabin.

The only sounds Severus could hear came from deep in the woods beyond him as woodland creatures roamed the darkness, yet somehow he knew that the boy was inside. There was a certain disquieted feeling to the air- he could sense the powerful magic coming off the Potter boy pulsating through the stillness in waves.

Severus's heart accelerated as he approached the shack washed in the watery moonlight that cast long shadows against the wall. "Lumos," he whispered and the tip of his wand ignited in a brilliant white light.

Severus paused at the door, bombarded by fears of both the past and present. He pushed them down and stepped forward.

As soon as he had crossed the threshold there was a rapid movement in the corner of the hut. There, half concealed in shadows, stood Harry who had fixed Severus with a piercing stare. There was fear in his eyes, but less of the crazed panic Severus had seen in the ministry. Instead his eyes seemed to be filled with a tired resignation; there was no more fight left in him.

Despite his gut instinct on the matter, Severus approached Harry slowly, trying for a non-threatening stance. Potter pressed back against the corner but made no move to flee. Severus approached slowly until he was only a few feet away from him and paused, unsure on what to do.

As an auror his job was to subdue the suspect and bring him in for questioning.

But as Lily's best friend, even to this day, his job was to take care of her only son. The boy she had sacrificed everything for. As always, that instinct won out.

"Hello Harry," Severus said softly. "My name is Auror Snape. I'm here to help you, okay?"

At first Harry just stared at him blankly, but then in a trembling voice that was barely over a whisper he asked, "What's an au-auror?"

"It's someone who protects wizards. Like a muggle police officer."

There was no reaction from Harry at the word "wizard" but his eyes calmed a little. Severus could feel the magic in the air slowly fading away, most likely returning to its master. Harry suddenly looked exhausted; Severus supposed the events of the day were finally catching up with him.

"Are you hurt?" Harry numbly shook his head. Severus considered his next actions for a moment. Now that he had calmed him down, surely the right move was to take him back to the Ministry. They would be much more adept at caring for the child. Snape ignored the voice in his head pointing out that Harry was now seen as a threat by the Ministry and after the Dark Lord the Ministry had developed a rather… interesting way to deal with threats.

"Do you mind if I take you somewhere?" Severus could see the wheels spinning in Harry's head as he thought it over. Finally he gave a tiny nod and Severus reached over to grab his hand before he could change his mind. "Hold on tight," he whispered and they were sucked away.

They arrived at Severus's family home. Severus sighed, knowing that there would be repercussions for this. He found he was too tired to care. Harry seemed to second this feeling because Severus was practically holding him up as he swayed lightly on his feet.

"Let's get you to bed." The tiny boy was too exhausted to protest as Snape scooped him up and deposited him on his king size bed. He was asleep almost instantly.

Severus did a brief diagnosis spell on the boy and frowned with what he found. There were no wounds on the boy that required immediate attention but his body held clear signs of severe abuse and neglect.

Nearly every bone in his body had been broken at least once, although all but a few hairline fractures were healed by now. There was massive internal bleeding, showing up as dark purple bruises running up his arms and legs, and even a few dark marks on his chest. But perhaps what was most alarming was the size of the boy. Severus had thought he was light when he had picked him up- but light wasn't even a proper adjective to describe his extreme emaciation. It looked like he had been starved to near death.

Severus looked shocked at the tiny child who was curled up in the center of his bed fast asleep. The sudden wave of rage that rushed through him pushed away any hint of tiredness. He was only able to keep down the surge of magic that threatened to explode by the thought of frightening Harry.

Severus took a steadying breath and calmed himself enough to think properly. It was time to start on his first priority- healing Harry Potter.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: You guys are amazing readers, thanks again for follows, favorites, and especially reviews! I'm going to keep to this schedule of posting every day (only to be broken in case of extreme crisis). There will probably be about a month break between this book and the next one, to give me time to write ahead but I'll keep you guys posted.

 **Chapter 3- Home**

Severus spent the whole night brewing potions, interrupted by brief trips to check on Harry. For the most part he slept deeply but once or twice Severus had sprinted to his room in an all-out panic at the boy's terrified whimpers only to find him lost in a nightmare. Each time Severus didn't dare to touch him, instead talking to him quietly until he settled.

Severus's eyes were starting to blur again as he squinted at the potion book so he decided it was time to check in on Potter again. He stood and wiped his eyes, stretching his back that was stiff from leaning over his cauldron all night. Severus swallowed a pepper up potion with one gulp in his sparsely rationed kitchen and then walked to his room.

When he entered he was surprised to see Harry sitting in the center of his bed, still surrounded in a nest of Severus's dark green sheets, staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Good morning," said Severus awkwardly, breaking the tense silence. The boy simply stared. "Do you need anything?" No answer again.

"Alrighty then," Severus muttered under his breath and then left, heading towards the kitchen. He filled a glass with cool water and returned to find Harry unmoved, still staring at him silently.

Severus approached the beast cautiously, holding the glass of water ahead of him as a peace offering. Harry took it hesitantly and then took a small sip. Seeming satisfied he gulped the whole thing down in a matter of seconds.

He held the empty glass back to Severus. "May I have more, please?" he asked in a strained voice, flinching as if expecting Severus to strike him.

Severus just nodded, unable to find his voice at the look on Harry's face, turning away to hide the pinpricks of tears gathering in his eyes.

"Drink this one slowly," Severus told Harry when he returned and then he went back to his potion making.

A few minutes later Snape heard the soft sound of footsteps padding on carpet. He listened carefully but did not pick his head up from its position hunched over his cauldron. His toilet flushed and the boy padded back to his room, moving almost silently through the house.

Severus gave an appraising look to the pale golden color of the potion. He could leave it to simmer for a while while he attended to Potter's needs.

Severus straightened up and picked up the small collection of potions he had made the night before now stoppered in bottles of various shapes and sizes. He ransacked his kitchen to find anything that would help persuade Potter to drink them all and then returned to the bedroom, making sure to keep his footsteps loud so the boy knew he was coming but not so loud that he sounded angry. Severus was all too experienced with judging the mood of an adult by their gait.

He pushed open the door and found Lily's eyes staring at him once more, with Harry sitting on the edge of the bed that Severus noticed he had already made.

"I brought you some things," Severus started slowly, carefully gauging each of the boy's reactions as he distributed the potions on his bed side table. The scrawny boy just watched him with that guarded look again. "I want you to drink them so that…" Before Severus could fully explain the purpose of each potion Harry had scooted over and chugged the first one.

It was a nutrition potion that Severus thought tasted rather like a mixture of old socks and rat poison, but Harry swallowed the thing with no qualms, just moving rapidly on to the next potion. He swallowed all the potions in rapid succession and then looked up at Severus with wide eyes as if seeking approval (or rather, Severus decided after, seeking no punishment).

"That was…. Very good of you," Severus forced out awkwardly and then shoved the piece of chocolate he had found wedged under the stove into Harry's hand.

Harry stared at it for a moment as if unsure of what to do with it. "It's chocolate," Severus added.

With the way the boy looked at him with that comment you would have thought Severus just handed him the freaking philosopher's stones.

His eyes widened exponentially and filled with first surprise and then an overwhelming joy that lit up his whole face. "For me?" he whispered in awe.

"To rid your mouth of the taste from the potions," Severus answered simply, unsure if he could have managed to say anything else.

The boy gazed back in wonderment at the treat and then slowly peeled off the golden foil, staring reverently at the revealed dark chocolate.

He took a cautious nibble and his eyes lit up even brighter (which Snape had thought would be an impossible feat).

"You will have to take these potions every day," Severus started to lecture him, "and I will expect you to eat three, fully nutritious balanced meals…"

Harry cut him off, "Will I get…" He trailed off when he realized what he had done staring at Severus in horror. He had learned long ago never to interrupt an adult while they are speaking.

Severus lifted an eyebrow as he saw the inner turmoil flash across the boy's face. "You may continue."

"Will I get chocolate when I finish the potions every day?" Harry finished in a rushed, terrified whisper, staring down at his hands so he didn't meet Severus's eyes. Of all the stupid questions he could have asked…

"If you behave yourself," Severus responded tersely. He didn't catch the boy's amazed gaze as he turned and strode out of the room, "now come and eat breakfast."

Severus was in the middle of toasting the last two pieces of bread in his house with a heating spell because his toaster was broken (and probably had been for years) when the events of the day before fully hit him. He realized that at the moment the Ministry probably thought he was dead and had arranged a giant manhunt for the boy. He would have to go in to work and straighten things out but he had no intention of turning in Harry, at least until the ministry fully understood what had happened, so that left him with few options. He certainly couldn't leave the terrified, half- starved child to his own devices.

Severus sighed deeply and placed the toast in front of the ever- amazed Harry. "Eat," he ordered then walked over to the large fireplace in his living room. He knelt down next to it, throwing a handful of glimmering floo powder in. "McGonagall's Quarters, Hogwarts".

Minerva was sitting at her desk and sipping her tea quietly as she looked over the morning paper with a deep frown when suddenly a face appeared in her fireplace. She jumped, scowling as she spilled half of the contents of her teacup onto her lap. She cast a quick drying charm and then turned to the face, fully composed.

"Greetings Severus. I take it you're not dead?" She gestured to the newspaper then caught on to Severus's worn and wary expression.

"I need your help," he said to her quietly, cringing at the weakness in his voice. "Now," he added sharply and then disappeared.

Minerva humphed at his lack of manners, but quickly followed him, her wand gripped tightly in her hand.

When Severus straightened and turned from the fire place he found Harry a few feet behind him, staring at him. "You just stuck your head in the fire," he stated, staring at the grate. Severus nodded and before he could explain to the poor boy at least something about the floo network Minerva appeared out of the fireplace with a flash of green fire.

Potter didn't make any noise but backed rapidly against the wall, his gaze flickering between McGonagall and then back to Severus as he desperately sought reassurance. Severus gave him a small nod, hoping to keep Harry from going into another burst of accidental magic.

Minerva just stared at Harry, seeming just as shocked to see him as he was to see her. Finally she tore her gaze away from him and turned to Severus, her eyes demanding an explanation.

"That's the Potter boy," Snape started, not very helpfully.

"I can see that," Minerva snapped back, lowering her voice when she saw Harry flinch and press further against the wall. "Is it true that he…"

Severus nodded and Minerva had the sense not to continue while Harry was in the room.

She sighed unhappily, not pleased with Severus's explanation, or rather lack of explanation, and turned to Harry. "Hello Harry. My name is Professor McGonagall."

Harry stared pointedly at his feet, not showing any outward reaction to Minerva's attempts.

"Harry," Severus started in a loud but even tone, "Professor McGonagall will watch you while I go attend to some matters. I will be back soon." He hesitated as he saw the panic that filled Harry's eyes at the thought of being left alone with a stranger. "I promise you, she will not strike you or in any way harm you or else she will have me to deal with."

A look passed between Severus and Minerva, Minerva's eyes widening at the implications of the statement and Severus silently promising to explain later. Harry nodded meekly.

Severus chugged a few pepper ups and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. He decided his appearance would only help his story so without a glance back he stepped into the floo and shot up in green flames.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Thank y'all for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. You guys are awesome!

 **Chapter 4- A Visit to the Ministry**

As soon as Severus strode out of the grate at the ministry a wand was jabbed forcefully at his face. "Name and purpose," a snide voice demanded. Severus looked down to see Robert Anderson, a low level Ministry worker who always made his skin crawl. All Severus had to do was narrow his eyes and the wand was rapidly lowered. "I'm so sorry sir," Anderson stuttered, "Right this way."

As he led Severus away he blubbered out an apology which Severus promptly ignored. When they reached the lift Severus pushed him away. "I do not need an escort to the Auror Department, Anderson," he snarled and then entered the lift to the idiot stuttering, "No, of course not, sorry sir…" The lift sped away before he could finish his apology.

As soon as he stepped into the Auror department Severus knew he had greatly underestimated the reaction of the ministry. Flyers were stacked haphazardly up to the ceiling with Harry's bloodied face from the day before on them, "Undesirable No. 1" plastered across the top. In the corner of the cramped room the Minister stood in front of a slew of reporters showing them the damage from the night before and listing statistics about how many had been wounded and killed in the attack of the "mighty dark wizard." _Who also happened to be ten_ Severus thought sarcastically.

He pushed his way through the crowd to the head of the Auror Department's office, Madame Bones. She sat in there with a grim look on her face, barking orders at the few aurors that weren't already out searching or dead. Silence split the office the moment Severus entered. Bones and the three other aurors stared at him, their mouths hanging open as if they had just seen a ghost. Severus thought with exhausted amusement that in a way, they had.

"Severus," Madame Bone gasped out, the first one to break the silence. She shook herself and regained her normal ordering voice. "I expect you to debrief me on what just occurred and where have you been for the past 12 hours in," she glanced at her watch, "about a minute." She turned to the other aurors, "You know your duties. Now go."

All the aurors gave one last shocked glance at Snape then rushed out of the office. Severus collapsed heavily into the chair on the other side of his boss's desk, watching as she crossed the room to whisper in the Minister's ear. He glanced back to look at Severus, who met his gaze steadily.

They both turned to say something to the press and then walked back together to Bone's office. Walking back Fudge looked as confused as always and Madame Bones looked absolutely livid. She burst in; apparently having decided in the minute that she had been away that Snape's absence had been completely unacceptable. "Where the hell have you been?" she practically shouted at him.

Fudge winced at her cutting tone but Severus just looked up with a polite, phony smile fixed on his face. "Would you like for me to start from the beginning?"

"Cut the crap, Severus," she fumed, sitting angrily in the seat across from him leaving Fudge to scramble for a seat as they engaged in a brief glaring contest.

Severus finally leaned in once Fudge found a seat, looking calmly at his two bosses and starting in an even, objective voice, "Last night the magic wards at Potter's Aunt and Uncle's house went off off the charts. Auror Moody, who was keeping an eye on them contacted me and a handful of other aurors, I trust you know who." Bones nodded and Fudge quickly bobbed his head to appear as if he actually knew what was going on.

"We arrived at the house to find it utterly demolished, burning down in flames with Potter standing in the front yard covered in blood. He didn't respond to anything we said to him and the muggle authorities were approaching so we apparated him to the ministry. When it became apparent that he had performed the magic that blew up his house, killing all three of the Dursleys, we placed him in an interrogation room."

"I was watching him through the observatory glass before we were supposed to go in and question him. He looked right where I was so I took a preemptory measure and attempted to read his mind." Madame Bones gave him a sharp look and Severus pointed out that legilemens would have been used anyway considering the boy had been refusing to talk before continuing.

"There was some type of mental wall in his mind… it was more powerful than any I've ever felt, even with the most powerful wizards well- practiced in occlumency. I was not prepared for the wall so I was blown back by the force of it. The boy panicked at the feeling of someone invading his mind and started straining against his restraints. A few aurors rushed in and I believe one attempted to touch him to calm him down. This had the opposite affect; causing him to let out an astonishingly powerful burst of accidental magic which accounted for all the damage you see."

"I was the only one left conscious after the explosion due to the fact I was on the other side of the glass so I rushed to the scene. I attempted to calm Potter but he was terrified beyond help. I reached out to grab him when I sensed he was about to flee and he managed to apparate away with his remaining power." Both Bones and Fudge were staring awestruck at him now- a burst of accidental magic was one thing but a child his age, who grew up with muggles, being able to apparate was another thing entirely. Severus took a deep breath, his story was about to get even stranger.

"When I performed legilimens on the boy and he reflected it he must have gotten a brief look inside of my mind because he apparated to a cabin that used to be owned by my family and is now long abandoned. He tried to shake me off as we traveled and I was rendered unconscious as soon as we landed due to the effort it took to hold on. As soon as I awoke and found no trace of Potter I came here."

The end of his story was met with silence as the two wizards in front of him stared at him with looks of disbelief ranging from "he must have hit his head in the blast" to "I hear there's an empty bed next to the Longbottom's at St. Mungos". Severus waited with barely concealed impatience.

Finally Bones seemed to snap into action, her look of doubt easing from the trust she had in Severus as a well- practiced auror. "Go see the healer," she ordered him. He gave her a dark look. "Now," she barked. "Then you will show us where this cabin is and then you are taking the week. No complaints."

Severus stalked out of the room, putting on his best angry glare for everyone in the vicinity, but secretly he was glad for the break. It gave him plenty of time to figure out what to do with Potter.

The healer fussed over Severus until he finally promised her he would sleep for at least 15 hours after this and avoid any strenuous activities. Severus wondered if taking care of an abused boy with serious psychological and physical issues counted as "strenuous."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Helping Hands**

Madame Bones refused to let Severus stay at his father's old cabin for more than a minute so he quickly returned home after making a quick stop to Diagon Alley. As he apparated into his yard he half expected to find the house burned to the ground but he was relieved to find the same tiny house in desperate need of a new paint job.

The house was quiet when he entered, but not eerily so. He could hear the sound of hushed voices conversing in his sitting room. His footsteps were nearly silent as he walked towards the room, peering through the entrance to see Minerva sitting on the couch across from a puffy chair that practically swallowed Harry. The small boy was curled up in a ball watching the object in Minerva's hand with delight.

It was her wand and ever so often she would make multicolored sparks fly out of it or levitate various objects lying around the living room. Harry let out a surprised laugh as the lamp next to him suddenly turned into a purple bunny that hopped lazily across the floor.

"I see that you two have been properly aquatinted," Severus said, talking their brief lapse in chatter to stroll into their room.

"Severus," said Minerva with a genuine smile, "I trust everything went well with your matters."

Severus nodded, ignoring the piercing look Minerva shot him. He would have plenty of time to fill her in later.

With a flick of his wand Severus transfigured the rabbit back into his lamp, too exhausted to notice that he had failed to change the color and his lamp was now a vibrant shade of violet. Minerva snorted when she saw it but didn't comment. "It's time for lunch now," Severus told the room, glancing at Harry and taking in his disheveled appearance.

Despite a hasty cleaning spell Severus had cast on him the night before, his entire body was still stained with patches of dried blood and mud. His hair stood up even more wildly (which Severus hadn't thought was possible). His clothes were a dull gray as if they were years old and dwarfed his tiny body. He would need to get the boy cleaned up after they ate.

Minerva and Severus did most of the talking during lunch, Severus holding in any harsh retorts for the boy's sake. Harry just watched them curiously, giggling every time Minerva teased Severus, but stayed silent unless questions were directed right at him. Severus supposed that was just another sign of the abuse he had endured.

When Severus noticed Harry picking at his plate with a frown, a slightly sick look on his face, he summoned in one of the potions he had made the night before. Harry watched in never- fading awe as the potion whizzed in and landed right next to his plate. He drank it without question and a few moments later Severus noticed him shoveling food into his mouth with satisfaction.

Once Harry's plate was scraped clean Severus disappeared to the bathroom, letting Minerva watch over Harry again, who she had become very fond of already. He filled up the bath with warm water, frowning when he considered whether or not the Dursleys had used that as a form of abuse as well. His own father had never held him under the water, but he'd had first year Slytherins who were terrified by the mere mention of a bath.

Severus guessed he would find out soon enough. He returned to the kitchen to find Minerva transfiguring half his furniture into various objects of different colors, shapes and sizes. A few animals had been added to the mix as well and were now running around freely. It took all Severus's control and the joyous look on Harry's face to not throw McGonagall out of his house right there.

Minerva just smiled mischievously when she saw Severus's murderous look and continued to destroy his kitchen. Not that it had been in particularly good shape before.

Severus turned away from her with an offended scowl. "It's time to get you cleaned up," he addressed Harry in a much kinder tone, analyzing his every expression to see if his suspicions were correct. The boy didn't look afraid per say, but he didn't look happy either. The smile disappeared off his face and didn't return even when a rainbow butterfly that had once been a fork landed on his hand. He nodded glumly, the movement startling the butterfly away.

He knew Minerva noticed the odd behavior too, but she put on a cheery face and said in a forced voice, "Go get nice and clean I'll be right out here when you're done."

The boy dragged his feet as Severus led him towards the bathroom, his face akin to someone being led to the gallows. The sight twisted Severus's gut and he wondered if Harry didn't show fear because he was so used to it and had learned to just accept the abuse, or even more disturbing expect it.

They stopped in front of the large marble tub, Harry's eyes fixed on the clear water. He gave a weary sigh and then stripped down, letting Severus see the full extent of his injuries.

His diagnostic spell the night before had told him about all of the injuries but knowing about them and seeing them were two different things entirely. Harry's skin was almost completely mottled with bruises, some a fresh deep purple, some having faded to a light green after being there for a few days. His ribs stuck out so much that Severus could clearly see each one defined sharply against his tiny form. He was all skin and bones; not at all what a child his age should be.

Severus noticed something that he hadn't picked up on from the diagnostic spell- Harry's neck had nearly black bruises stretching from ear to ear across his neck, the dark outline of fingerprints seared into the skin from the hands that had tried to squeeze the life out of him. The bruises couldn't be more than a day old.

Severus felt a nearly uncontrollable rush of rage sweep through him. The mirror in his bathroom started to vibrate violently and he forcefully pushed away the anger when Lily's eyes met him. There was nothing he could do to avenge Harry's astonishing treatment because his abusers were already gone. Now the most he could hope for was to try to reverse the damage before it was too late.

He smiled encouragingly to the boy and Harry let out another heavy sigh as he turned back to face the tub. He dipped his fingers tentatively into the water and his head snapped instantly back to stare up at Severus.

"It's warm!" he exclaimed in genuine surprise.

"Well of course it's warm silly child why wouldn't it…." Severus trailed off with the sickening realization.

Harry didn't seem to mind Severus's insensitive question and slipped into the tub, smiling as the pleasant water enveloped him. He decided that baths were actually quite nice.

Severus silently handed him the few bottles of soap he could scrounge up, laid down the clothes he had picked up at Diagon Alley, and quietly excused himself. It was time to have to have the long delayed talk with Minerva.

Minerva had thankfully returned his kitchen to order by the time he returned (in fact, she had made a few much needed improvements from its previous condition). There was nothing Severus wanted to do more at this moment than to sleep, but instead he sat heavily in the chair across from Minerva, running a hand down his face.

She waited patiently for him to start, so after thinking for a moment Severus started from the beginning, with the auror visit to the Dursleys house. He explained how he thought the signs of choking on Harry's neck had an awful lot to do with the incident. Once Severus started, he couldn't stop, spewing the whole story to Minerva who didn't interrupt him once, her sharp mind taking in every word.

When he finished she inhaled sharply, a weight appearing in her eyes as she considered the seriousness of what Severus had done. She looked at the drained man across from her who looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. She thought of the boy and quickly made her decision.

"I don't know what I would have done in your case," she cut off the start of Severus's protests with a sharp look, "however it seems that my course of action no longer matters. What's done has already been done, and I fully intend to back you up with this entirely and perform whatever actions you require from me. Starting with watching Harry as you get some much needed rest."

Severus just nodded tiredly, giving her a grateful smile (that came out as more of a grimace.) "Go, now," she ordered him, "it is well within my abilities to watch over a ten year old boy for a few hours. We will continue this discussion later."

Her tone left no room for arguments, not that any part of Severus was complaining. He stumbled into his room and passed out without even bothering to remove his shoes.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. They make me unbelievably happy and feed the muse. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far:)

 **Chapter 6- The Nightmare**

Severus was fast asleep, dreaming pleasantly of laying by the river with Lily talking softly and staring into the turquoise sky when suddenly a sharp hand grabbed him and pulled him roughly from sleep. He startled awake quickly struggling against the hand that had closed painfully around his shoulder and was immediately given a cuff to the ear.

"Up, boy," his father roared. "I should beat your scrawny ass for sleeping this late on a Saturday while I work my ass off all week for this family. This is how you repay me for everything I do?!" He ripped the tiny boy from his bed. "There's work to be done boy."

Severus had to bite his lip to keep from crying out as his father dragged him forcefully into the woods outside the cabin and threw him down into the dirt like garbage that needed to be discarded. He grabbed the rusted axe leaning against the side of the house and let out a drunken laugh when he saw Severus flinch.

He tossed the axe at Severus and gestured to a collection of logs he had dragged in from the surrounding woods. "Cut. I expect you to be at least half way done by noon or else you're not getting lunch."

Severus stared at the wood pile that was nearly as tall as him. His weak arms could barely even lift the axe, much less chop with it. But he couldn't disappoint his father so he quickly set to work.

The hours ticked on as Severus toiled away, his arms quickly going numb as sweat dripped down his body and his vision started to blur. His father sat on a log and watched him work, drinking his way through a six- pack in front of him and making sure to throw insults at Severus at every opportunity.

The sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. Severus watched it desperately, knowing he would never make it in time. He just needed to make the axe sharper; it was so dull that Severus had to put all his weight into the chops to even crack the wood.

He saw his chance when his father stumbled inside to get more beer. Moving fast, he slipped out his wand that he had kept concealed in his jeans and muttered a spell at the axe. Before he could slip his wand away the door slammed open.

He tried to jam his wand away but he clearly didn't move fast enough. His Father let out an enraged roar and grabbed Severus, painfully pulling him inside. "What did I say about doing any of those freaky acts boy?"

Severus's lip quivered violently but he held back the flow of tears as his father pulled him up off the ground by his collar. "Well what did I say? Are you deaf boy or just slow?"

He released his collar and Severus fell onto the wooden floor. "I'll make sure you remember this time."

Severus felt panic fill him as he heard the sound of his father unbuckling his belt. He ripped Severus's shirt up, revealing a back already warped with deep scars that would never fully heal. "Oh you'll remember this time," his dad whispered darkly and brought down his belt with a crack.

Severus's petrified screams mixed with the cracks as the whip came down again and again and….

Suddenly Severus was pulled from his nightmare by a hand grabbing his arm. Without thinking he grabbed his wand and pointed it at the person before the emerald eyes registered in his mind. He blinked and finally took in Harry standing in front of him, looking rather unafraid considering Severus had just pointed his wand at him.

Snape relaxed, placing his wand beside him and running a hand over his face which he noticed with a frown was covered in sweat.

" Are you okay sir?" Harry asked quietly, looking at him intently with a knowing expression.

"Yes," Severus snapped then took a breath and continued in a softer tone, "It was just a bad dream."

Severus had no idea why he was spilling out all his secrets to the boy- he had never felt any reason to do this before. Perhaps it was because he knew that out of anyone, Potter would be able to understand what he had gone through. He was a victim himself. And that made all the difference.

Harry nodded and sat lightly on the edge of the bed. "I have those too sometimes," he responded in a near- whisper. He seemed to hesitate and then deflecting his gaze from Severus's he asked, "Was it about your father?"

The air seemed to rush out of Severus's lungs as he heard the question. He quickly schooled his s hocked expression into a hardened one when he felt Harry's eyes turning to him. "Yes," he answered simply, the admission sending a flood of bad memories through him. "How did you-?"

He didn't need to finish his question because Harry understood. "When I was in that room, and you tried to read my mind through the glass…. I kinda think I accidentally did the reverse. I'm really sorry I didn't mean to…" Severus cut off the boys guilty rantings.

"I shouldn't have attempted to read your mind in the first place," Severus reassured him, thinking about what he had just said. He wondered how he had been able to see through the one way mirror, but decided he had more important things to worry about. Like the fact that Harry now knew most, if not all, of Severus's past.

Severus knew he must be more tired than he originally thought because he found he wasn't too bothered with the idea. If anyone else had unlimited access to his past Snape would undoubtedly obliviate them until they forget who he even was or otherwise dispose of them.

Yet Harry was Lily's son. It hadn't taken long for Severus to discover that his similarity to his father had ended at his appearance. The boy was his mother's son, clear in the remorse in his eyes when he thought of his abusers, and clear most of all in the fact that he was still there.

He had seen all of Severus's memories- the good, the bad, the evil and yet he hadn't run away screaming. Somehow, Harry had done what even Lily couldn't- he had forgiven Severus. For some reason, Harry trusted him despite the odds, and Severus was never going to betray that trust.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought before Harry asked, "You know when you tried to read my mind?" Severus nodded. "Well- did you, you know, see anything?"

"No." The relief was immediate in Harry's eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, maybe thank the auror for leaving his memories to himself (not that it had been Severus's choice) but no words came out. The pair of them fell back into a comfortable silence until a thought struck Severus.

"Where'd Professor McGonagall go?"

Harry turned to Severus with a cheeky smile. "I'll show you," he said mysteriously and slid off the bed waiting eagerly for Severus to follow him. Severus rolled out of bed with a muffled groan and then followed him to the living room where he found Minerva passed out on the couch, snoring softly.

He let out a small snort, joining the boy who was struggling to keep his laughter quiet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- The Dark Lord Returns**

Minerva joined them in the kitchen when the smell of roasted chicken drifted into the living room and woke her up. She attempted to keep composure but couldn't help but blushing when Severus smirked knowingly at her.

After a quiet dinner Harry went straight to bed, exhausted from the rather emotionally- draining day. Minerva and Severus stayed in the kitchen and waited until they heard Harry settling into bed before they started their conversation. Severus cast a silencing spell just in case.

He sighed, feeling as if the effects of his brief sleep had suddenly been erased. Minerva pulled out the news from that day and showed it to him. Severus didn't read past the headline which proclaimed in bold letters, "The Boy Who Lived Taking You-Know-Who's Place as the Next Dark Wizard of the Century."

"This is ridiculous," Severus muttered darkly pushing the paper away with a disgusted look on his face. "The boy is only ten; he's hardly dark lord material."

Minerva looked grim, "Well you did see what he was capable of."

Severus looked up at her sharply, "You believe this utter nonsense? I thought you had better reason than that."

"I wouldn't have offered to help if I thought he was turning into the next Voldemort," she replied coolly, watching as Severus rubbed his left arm subconsciously. "But you have to admit- a show of that much power in a child his age…" She trailed off giving him a meaningful look.

"I know," Severus admitted tiredly. "But the Ministry would never be able to understand that he was acting out of a place of fear. After… Voldemort, they won't take any chances."

"I agree."

"So what are we going to do?" Severus hated asking for help but he recognized that this one was far above his capabilities.

"I think Dumbledore should be contacted."

"No," Severus spat out, suddenly finding himself standing, "No I won't let _him_ near Potter."

Minerva looked at him calmly, despite the rage written over his face. "He's changed you know."

"No one can change that much," Severus retorted bitterly.

Minerva gauged him for a moment and then started carefully. "I think you're letting your emotions get the better of you. This is no longer about you and what occurred between the two of you those many years ago. If you truly care about Harry…"

"You're implying that I don't care about the boy?" Severus didn't notice the cabinets starting to rattle violently as anger tore through him. "I risked my life to bring him here and now you suggest to bring in the very man that almost ended it? You're blind Minerva, he has you as brain washed as the rest of them, he doesn't give a shit about anyone except himself and the sooner you realize that…"

Suddenly a searing pain in Severus's left arm cut off his rant. He let out a gasp as his dark mark burned angrily against his skin. Somehow he knew exactly what that meant. He ignored Minerva's questions of what was wrong and charged out of the room.

As soon as he passed through the doorway, out of the reach of the silencing spell he heard the screams splitting the air. How could he have been so stupid to not realize that silencing spells kept sound out as much as they kept it in? He burst into the door, to find Harry writhing in the sheets, his hand pressed against his scar as the inhuman screams of agony tore from his mouth.

Severus wanted nothing more than to run to the boy, but he had seen what happened when someone touched Harry while he was in this state. "Harry," he shouted, "Harry wake up, it's just a dream." Except it wasn't.

Severus watched hopelessly as none of his calls made it to Harry. He barely caught Minerva as she hurdled through the door, desperately trying to get to Harry. She turned to Severus with a wild look in her eyes, grabbing her wand as if preparing to hex him. "Minerva, you can't, he's too scared."

Her eyes darkened with realization and she turned back to the boy whose mouth was open in a silent scream, his face contorted in pain. "Get Dumbledore," Severus snapped at Minerva and she disappeared with a crack.

"Harry, Harry it's okay I'm here," Severus said, suddenly wishing that Harry was still screaming- anything was better than the sickening silence that had fallen over the room. "Harry, wake up."

Severus took back his wish as Harry suddenly started screaming once again. This time he shouted out words. "No, not my parents, please no."

"Harry, snap out of it, it's not real, please." Suddenly bright green eyes met him through the dark and Harry let out a startled shout. Then he threw himself at Severus, wrapping his arms around his neck as he buried his head in his cloak, sobbing heavily.

"He's back," Harry choked out brokenly.

"I know," Severus said quietly, rubbing his back soothingly as he stared blankly out the window into the sleeping world that had no idea who had just returned. Had no idea that its fate had just been sealed. "I know."


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites!

 **Chapter 8- A New Ally**

Dumbledore was sitting in his office, merrily sucking on a lemon drop, lost in thought when suddenly someone appeared with a loud crack. Dumbledore startled, the wards were still up- how had someone possibly…?

"Minerva," he said in a surprised voice, taking in the disheveled witch with a panicked look in her eyes that he rarely saw, "How did you…?"

"There's no time," gasped out Minerva. "Severus- Harry."

As soon as he heard the boy's name he stood up and grabbed Minerva's arm. "Bring me."

They reappeared in the darkened living room of Severus's house, Minerva's heart dropping as she took in the silence in the house. She hurried towards Severus's room, the feeling of dread increasing with every step.

She was met with a surprising sight. Severus was sitting in the bed with Harry curled up in his arms, Minerva assumed fast asleep judging by how quiet he was being. Severus looked up at her with a dark look that she couldn't read. Dumbledore let out a surprised gasp but otherwise stayed silent when he joined Minerva in the doorway after casting a few spells to make sure there were no unwanted guests in or around the house.

Severus gently laid Harry on the bed, pulling the covers over him before brushing past the still shocked Minerva and Dumbledore on his way to the living room. He collapsed into the arm chair, pulling back his arm to see the dark mark, appearing darker on his skin than it had in years. The burning sensation had stopped but Severus could still feel it, a sensation he had almost forgotten over the years.

He could feel his Master; feel that he had come back to the world of the living. He shivered and pushed his sleeve back, pushing the sensation to the back of his mind as the other two adults entered.

Dumbledore looked between the two of them with the twinkle in his eyes noticeably subdued. When no one offered up information he spurred the conversation, "Would someone like to fill me in on what is going on?"

Severus let Minerva give Albus a condensed version of the story. His thoughts were heavy as he stared out the window at the moonless night. Clouds blocked out the stars, leaving the world dark. Somewhere out there, Severus knew, the Dark Lord was reawakening. As he sat there, he was gaining power, gaining followers and soon he would come for Severus. Come and drag him back into the life he had left far behind. And there was nothing Severus could do to stop it. He was marked.

Severus was pulled from his dark thoughts when the conversation was suddenly turned back to him. Minerva had finished explaining all the events that had brought the boy here but she was now at a loss for words. "I think Severus can explain the rest much better than I can," she told Dumbledore and all eyes turned to Severus.

He looked right into the pale blue eyes of Dumbledore, too drained to feel the familiar hatred he always felt when he saw the man, and said quietly, "The Dark Lord is back." He couldn't bear to say his name any more.

Minerva inhaled sharply but Dumbledore just nodded, having known that this day was coming for years. "The boy felt it through his scar, and I felt it through my dark mark." Dumbledore just nodded at this too, apparently having suspected that there would be a connection between Voldemort and Harry.

The room fell back into silence, the weight each of them now held almost palpable. Finally Dumbledore spoke, his words ringing through the room, "Severus, I think we need to talk about what happened all those years ago-"

"I have nothing to say to you," Severus snapped back, "You are here simply to help Potter control his magic, nothing more." The venom in Snape's voice cut off Dumbledore from furthering the conversation.

"Well there is nothing more that can be done here tonight. Why don't we meet back here tomorrow?" Minerva forced out, trying to ease the tension.

"Yes, I better go," Dumbledore said sadly, glancing over at Severus who refused to even look in his direction.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. Especially because you can now apparently apparate directly into my office," he said much more brightly to Minerva with a smile.

"Never underestimate a witch in a crisis," Minerva said back mysteriously. "Although it is probably best if we take the floo back, if only to keep up appearances."


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Your reviews give me life. Thank you so much!

 **Chapter 9- An Unexpected Visitor**

A minute later Severus was left alone to his thoughts. He didn't even bother trying to get some sleep, knowing any attempt would be futile and even if he did drift off his dreams would be haunted with thoughts of the future.

Instead Severus spent the night strengthening the wards around his house and making potions. The potions he brewed were very different from the healing ones for Harry he had made only the night before. These were potions of war- poly juice potions and various defensive and attack potions along with any others that had been useful in the last war.

That's were Minerva and Albus found him the next day, hunched over a bubbling cauldron with bloodshot eyes that told them he had been there all night. Albus sighed but had the sense not to comment.

Minerva busied herself making breakfast while they all waited for Harry to awake with growing apprehension. Finally at 8 am padded feet walking down the hall alerted them to his arrival.

He walked in with a yawn. "Good morning Mister Snape." He froze in his tracks when he saw Dumbledore sitting calmly on the couch, watching him with a sparkle in his eye.

"Hello Harry I'm Professor Dumbledore."

"I know who you are," Harry hissed, slowly moving away from Albus while keeping his eyes fixed on him.

Dumbledore sat there shocked by the malevolence in Harry's voice. The last time he had seen the boy was when he dropped him off at his relatives' house nearly ten years ago. That's when it hit Albus- the Dursleys, he had handed Harry right into the hands of his abusers.

A pang of guilt ran through Albus- but he couldn't have possibly known what they were capable. Not that you ever checked a cold voice reminded him. But the boy couldn't possibly know about that- he was far too young at the time to remember it.

"He has my memories," Severus stated coldly, "I'm not sure how many, but apparently it's enough."

Albus stared at the horrified boy desperately. There were so many memories, so many things he had already done wrong for both him and Severus.

Harry seemed to be struggling to understand what was going on. He looked up at Severus, searching for confirmation that he knew what he was doing but Severus wouldn't meet Harry's eyes. Harry's head whirled as all the memories that contained those twinkling blue eyes flashed through his mind- he saw Severus being brutally beaten by students and Albus doing nothing, he saw Severus begging Albus to save a woman with eyes like his and saw her lifeless form crumpled on the ground, he saw Severus with nothing left at Dumbledore's door being turned away again and again.

With a gasp Harry forcefully pushed away the memories, snapping back to the present. It was all too much, his breath quickened as tears streamed down his face. He didn't even feel the hand on his shoulder as Severus tried to calm him down. All he could see were the eyes like his filled with death and ice encased his heart.

A cold rage settled over Harry, and suddenly everything was crystal clear. His gaze snapped back up to the old man as the tears dried. He could feel his magic swelling up, the power filling the room. Instead of scaring him like it had before, Harry felt a surge of pride run through him, he was empowered, he could make Dumbledore pay.

Severus slowly removed his hand as he felt the energy shift in the room. He could feel the raw power pour out of Harry, but unlike the accidental bursts of energy from before this magic was controlled, Harry knew what he was doing. "Harry," he said softly, "Professor Dumbledore is only here to help. It's okay; he's no danger to you."

The words didn't seem to register with Harry as the power continued to fill the room, leaving the air buzzing. Every piece of furniture started to shake violently, even the walls. Dumbledore had his hand on his wand and was watching the boy warily.

"You killed my parents," Harry said in a deadly whisper.

Severus could tell Dumbledore hadn't been expecting that because his usually guarded face registered shock before morphing back into its mask. "Voldemort killed your parents," Dumbledore responded softly.

"Don't lie!" Harry yelled, as a rush of magic blew through the room, ruffling Albus's robes. Everything rattled so violently for a second that Severus was afraid that the roof was going to cave in but then everything went still.

Harry's face twisted into a smile but there was no hint of joy in his eyes. It reminded Severus terribly of the expression Voldemort had right before he cast an Avada Kedavra.

"You were supposed to protect them," Harry told Dumbledore in a soft voice, his eyes filled with darkness. "You failed just like you did with me and Mr. Snape."

Harry shook his head. "You shouldn't have come here." Before anyone could react Severus and his armchair were blown backwards through the open door of the kitchen, colliding with Minerva who had been standing in the doorway with her wand ready to take out Harry if needed. The door slammed shut behind them, sealing them into the kitchen.

"Harry!" Severus shouted, banging frantically on the door. When it didn't budge, he stepped back and pulled out his wand. "Bombarda," he shouted. He barely ducked in time as the flash of red reflected off the door. It hit the kitchen window and exploded, raining glass shards all over the floor.

Minerva joined him and attempted all the spells she knew, but their attempts were futile. They could hear the sound of a vicious battle going on inside but they couldn't help.

As soon as Severus was safely in the other room Harry had launched his attack. He threw energy at Dumbledore, relying solely on intuition.

Dumbledore threw up a shield, deflecting the magic up to the ceiling that instantly shattered upon impact, throwing chunks of broken wood through the room. Harry barely noticed the destruction, focusing solely on the victim of his attack.

The battle went on, Harry continuing to direct his power at Albus and Dumbledore easily deflecting it, thoroughly destroying the room in the process.

Harry was so blinded by rage that he just kept going until all of his power was gone. He gave one last punch, throwing the final remnants of his magic at Albus before collapsing onto his knees, panting heavily. He suddenly found his eyes filled with tears that he was too tired to hold back.

"He took everything from me," Harry muttered weakly as he heard Dumbledore approach. Dumbledore understood that he was no longer talking about him.

"Not everything my dear boy, not everything," Dumbledore responded kindly.

A second later the door caved in with a loud bang and Severus and Minerva rushed in with their wands raised, both looking quite unhinged. As soon as Severus saw Harry he sprinted to his side, kneeling down next to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked sharply, his eyes filled with concern.

When Harry didn't respond Dumbledore answered for him, "He is fine, just tired I would imagine. That was quite an attack." While he spoke Albus set to work with fixing the room, casting silent reparos. Minerva quickly joined in and soon wood splinters and scorched pieces of cloth were flying across the room to reform pieces of furniture and the ceiling and walls.

Severus pulled Harry's chin up to look at him, ensuring that he was truly alright. After casting numerous diagnosis spells and finding nothing wrong Severus pulled Harry tightly against his chest, hugging him like he would never let him go.

"Never do that again," he scolded Harry, but didn't loosen his grip.

As Snape hugged him a sudden memory of another dark haired man holding him close flashed across his mind and the damn was broken. Harry sobbed heavily against Severus, feeling like his world was slowly tearing apart. He cried and cried like he had never been able to do before. He cried until there were no tears left.

Finally he calmed himself and pulled away from Severus, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Severus had given him no signs that he had intended to punish him yet, but Harry had just attacked someone on purpose and practically destroyed his house.

Harry stared pointedly at the floor and noticed that it was no longer covered in shattered furniture. He looked up in surprise and found the room put back together, looking as if the attack had never happened.

Minerva and Albus were sitting quietly on the couch together and quickly looked away as they felt Harry's eyes, pretending they hadn't been watching Severus's tender embrace the whole time.

"So," Dumbledore said merrily after a moment, "how about some breakfast?"

Everyone readily agreed, silently deciding to ignore the rough beginning to the morning. A quick reheating spell later they were all chowing down scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausages and Harry was chugging a small collection of potions (with a small piece of chocolate after). The morning passed with no further incidents.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: A review a chapter keeps me filled with... laughter. I don't know, I was trying to say something catchy but anyway the point is that your reviews, follows, and favorites mean SOOO much to me a million thanks to all my readers!

 **Chapter 10- Control**

After breakfast Albus and Harry clambered back into the living room, Minerva and Severus staying in the kitchen after multiple assurances that they wouldn't come in to find the room on fire. Albus settled into the armchair facing Harry who sat on the edge of the couch, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else, except for maybe the Dursleys.

"It seems to me that you have a lot of power," Albus started to explain instantly, his stomach squirming as the boy refused to meet his eyes. Albus knew he had plenty of valid reasons to distrust him, but it didn't make it any easier. "Now with wizards who have great amounts of magic stored in them they often find it hard to hold in and control their magic. This is especially difficult when they are upset or angry."

"That's why what you just did to me and what happened with your relatives was not your fault. Remember that Harry, you can only be held accountable for things that you do on purpose, not bursts of accidental magic."

Harry eyes finally met Albus's, looking uncomfortable. "But sir, earlier this morning, I think… I think I wanted to hurt you."

Albus nodded, having suspected as much. "You were well within reason, my boy. I'm afraid that my past intentions have done more harm than good." Dumbledore sighed and then in a strict voice added, "But that is not to be repeated again. You must learn how to control your anger."

Harry nodded sheepishly. "But how, sir? I didn't even mean to hurt my Uncle, I was just so scared and I couldn't breathe and…" Harry shuddered, his mind in a very faraway place.

"We all know you didn't mean to, Harry," Dumbledore responded softly. "You were just protecting your own life; no one can fault you for that."

Harry nodded sharply, battling back tears, and then looked expectantly at Albus. "I'm ready to learn."

Albus looked into his eyes, seeming to gauge something, and then nodded. "Then we shall begin."

Albus stood unexpectedly and rummaged through the large pockets of his midnight blue robes. After a moment he found what he was looking for and pulled out a wand. He gave it to Harry who turned it over in his hand, studying it. It looked as if it had survived many battles, covered in scratches so deep that strands of silver hair poked out in spots.

"This is the old wand of a friend," Albus provided with the twinkle back in his eyes, "I keep it as a spare now. It's a little worn but I'm sure it will serve you fine."

"What do I do with it?" Harry asked, staring up at Dumbledore with eyes wide with excitement. He had seen Minerva cast a few spells, but hadn't asked how she had done them.

"Just give it a wave," Albus said encouragingly, demonstrating with his own wand by sending out a few ruby sparks.

Harry picked up his wand carefully, as if it was a delicate antique and then waved it like Albus had. Instantly a stream of red light shot out of the tip and hit the wall, exploding a small hole in it with a loud bang. Albus raised his eyebrow and quickly extinguished the small fire that had ignited from the blast.

"What is going on in there?" Severus bellowed from behind the door.

"Nothing," Albus and Harry shouted back simultaneously in the same guilty voices.

They heard Minerva chuckling and pulling Severus back to his seat telling him, "You're going to have a heart attack if you keep that up. Just relax; Albus knows what he's doing." Severus muttered something under his breath.

Dumbledore turned back to Harry who had put the wand down quickly on the couch and had his hands clasped together. "That was quite a display of magic, especially since you should be quite drained from this morning. What exactly did you do?"

Harry looked panicked, "I don't know, I just waved the wand like you told me to!"

"Hmmm," said Albus thoughtfully. "Maybe you'll be able to control it better when you have a spell to focus on. Pick your wand back up."

Harry did, staring at the wand like it was a loaded gun. "Don't worry," Albus told him, "I will be able to counter anything if the spell goes wrong. Now the spell I want you to perform is a lighting spell. All you have to do is say 'lumos' and focus your magic on the end of your wand."

Albus demonstrated and then told Harry to try it.

Harry took a deep breath, giving Albus a dubious look. "Lumos," he whispered and instantly his wand glowed brilliantly, filling the room with a blinding white light. Harry stared at his wand in surprise as Albus beamed. "Very good! Now cancel the spell by flicking your wand a little."

Harry did. Nothing happened.

Albus frowned, "That should have worked," he said more to himself. Then to Harry he said, "Focus on pulling your magic away, like absorbing it back into yourself."

Harry squinted his eyes in concentration, staring into the blinding light and willing his magic to return to him. He felt it slowly receding from his wand and the light started to dim until it finally went dark. The room seemed strangely empty without it.

Albus just studied Harry for a moment, lost in thought. Finally, pulling himself back to the present, he told Harry, "Keep practicing that. I need to speak with Severus." Minerva soon joined Harry, giving him tips as Albus and Severus talked in the kitchen behind a muffliato.

Albus sat across from Severus, refusing to start the conversation until he was sure they could not be overheard. He would fill in Minerva later, but Harry was much too young to be hearing this.

"What did you discover?" Severus asked him, his dark eyes baring into Albus's, demanding an answer.

"Have you noticed anything about Harry's magic?" Albus answered evasively.

Severus glowered at him, not missing that he'd answered a question with a question. "You're stalling," he accused.

Albus just looked at him patiently and Severus scowled, giving in. "I've noticed that he seems to have an extraordinary grasp on wandless magic, suggesting that once he learns to control his emotions he will be able to perform complex magic easily. He has more power than I have ever seen, even from you."

"Is that all?"

"No. But I'm assuming by that question that you've felt it too."

Albus nodded grimly, "Although perhaps not as much as you."

Severus slowly pulled back his left sleeve, studying the mark with a haunted look. "I can feel it more around the boy. It's as if part of the Dark Lord is contained in him. At least part of the Dark Lord's power."

Albus sighed, "It must have happened the night his parents died. When the spell rebounded the small amount of life that Voldemort had left must have attached to the only living thing in the room- Harry. I'm afraid that this magic will only grow as Voldemort's power grows. We can only hope that Voldemort never learns of this connection, if he doesn't already know."

The table fell silent, Severus staring at the Dark Mark which seemed to pulse ominously with its Master so close. Or at least part of its Master. Severus squeezed his eyes shut- what was he going to do? The boy would never win against the Dark Lord; it wouldn't be long before all traces of Harry disappeared.

Albus watched Severus carefully, noting every emotion that flashed through his heavy eyes. When he shut his eyes Albus spoke, "I think you need to remember, Severus, that power is neither good nor bad, what you do with the power is what matters."

Severus opened his eyes slowly, "He can feel the Dark Lord, they share more than power."

"You and the Dark Lord share a connection, yet you have turned your back on the Dark Arts," Albus reminded him.

"Potter is only a child," Severus snapped, "I don't think you realize what you're asking of him. If the most powerful adults can't withstand Voldemort what makes you think he will?"

Albus met Severus's blazing eyes, "He won't have to stand alone."

Severus instantly deflated, slumping in his chair. "I won't be able to help him."

"You already have," Albus said with twinkling eyes. He continued before Severus could argue, "But I think Harry's power is even above my abilities. I may be able to perform complex spells, but his power is very different from my own."

"Who else could teach him?"

"I have someone in mind," Albus said brightly and then stood and walked into the living room before Severus could ask who. Snape scrambled after him.

They walked in just in time to see Harry cast a lumos and turn it off a second after. "Well done, my boy, well done!" Albus exclaimed. "Now if everyone would grab onto my arm I think it's about time for a field trip."


	11. Chapter 11

AN: I repay my beautiful readers with another chapter. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 11- A New Teacher**

Everyone had to practically run to grab on to Albus before he apparated them away with a loud pop. They reappeared in the middle of nowhere. Soft fields of grain stretched on for miles, bordered on every side by a forest of tall pines which on one side led to snow-capped mountains that towered far above them. In the center of the fields not far from them was a small wooden house.

The only signs that the house wasn't long abandoned were a small wooden chair sitting outside it and little puffs of smoke drifting out of the brick chimney. Albus smiled softly at the house, "I spent a great deal of my childhood here." He sniffed the air, "Ahhh the scent of grain right after it rains. It's not something you ever forget."

He led them forward, following a worn path that winded through the knee-high grain fields. He pointed often to random spots saying things like "It was here that I transfigured my first piece of grain. Into a chair if I remember correctly" or "Over there I fell of my broom playing quidditch once. My arm has never been the same since."

Harry laughed at a few of them, seeming to have warmed up slightly to the odd professor. As they got closer and closer to the house Severus started to notice that the air felt funny. It took him a second to recognize the feeling- it felt like Harry's magic when he had attacked Dumbledore earlier that morning except somehow it felt lighter and less threatening.

Severus prickled as the power continued to increase. "Oh don't worry he's just checking us out," Albus said cheerily when he noticed Snape's wariness.

Harry looked around in wonderment, feeling the power wash over him like a cool breeze. His magic had only felt like an angry storm whenever it flooded out of him, nothing like the magic surrounding him.

When they were only a few feet from the house the door flew open and out burst Harry's new teacher. He was a short and rather pudgy man, with a tiny dark goatee and buzz- cut hair. His robes were a vibrant shade of orange that almost hurt to look at.

"Albus!" he exclaimed, walking up to shake Dumbledore's hand rather vigorously. "It's been too long, my dear friend. And I see you've brought guests!"

"Yes," Albus said with a beam, "This is Professor McGonagall." The man took Minerva's hand and kissed it, giving her a gracious smile, "It is a pleasure to make acquaintances with such a beautiful witch." Minerva blushed.

"And here is Auror Severus Snape"

The man gasped and said excitedly, "I've heard much about you; it's a pleasure to finally meet!" Thankfully he decided not to kiss Severus's hand and instead gave him a firm handshake.

"And last but not least this is…"

"Harry Potter…" breathed out the man, staring at Harry with wonder. "The Boy Who Lived."

He seemed to snap out of it at that because he quickly stepped over to Harry and shook his hand, his benevolent smile fixed back on his face.

"Oh where are my manners?" the man rushed on, continuing to sound like a 5 year old on Christmas, "My name is John Tucker, but feel free to call me Tuck, that's what all my friends call me." He winked at McGonagall who forced out a smile. "Now come in, I put a pot of tea on as soon as I sensed your presence."

He beckoned them all inside. As soon as they stepped past the threshold they knew this was no ordinary house. Outside it looked like it could hardly fit more than three rooms. Inside was a different story. Hallways stretched out in all direction with multiple rooms leading off of each one.

The extension charms were so powerful that it looked more like a mansion than a cottage. Every room had neon colored paint of various colors- hot pink, lavender, bright green. He led them through a maze of rooms, most of them containing odd pieces of random furniture thrown together in a strangely pleasant manner. The house in an odd way resembled a giant playroom, as if once dozens of children had run freely through its halls.

As they walked through Dumbledore smiled nostalgically at everything, Minerva had to force the horrified look off her face, Severus glared at everything as if it had personally offended him, and Harry looked around in wonder. This house was the exact opposite of the Dursleys and he loved every bit of it.

After taking a small tour through the house they arrived in the kitchen, a relatively small room with yellow wallpaper covered in pictures of dragons. Harry jumped when one of the dragons moved. He stared at the wall with glee as the dragons flew around, breathing fire at each other and flipping through the air.

Tucker accioed in a couple of chairs (all colored and cushioned) and placed them around a tiny table. He forced everyone to sit down then went to get tea. Soon the table was loaded with teas of multiple types ("I didn't know which type of tea everyone liked so I made them all"), biscuits loaded with sugar, and to Dumbledore's delight lemon drops.

Severus and Minerva quietly drank their tea, shooting helpless looks at each other as they watched the other three members chow down with more enthusiasm than was called for. Albus and Tucker took the opportunity to fill in each other about every tiny detail that had happened in the year they hadn't seen each other.

Finally Severus couldn't take it anymore and had to interrupt, "I'm sorry, Albus, but I believe we're here for a reason." His eyes shot daggers at Dumbledore who ignored them.

"Ah yes," Albus said, a little subdued. Harry stared pointedly at his lap. "I'm afraid that our friend Harry here has more power than he frankly knows what to do with. I was thinking that you might be able to help with that."

He looked up at Tucker and they seemed to have a silent conversation before Tucker turned to Harry. "Don't worry kiddo. I know exactly what to do."

Harry looked doubtful. "You do?"

"Of course!" Tuck exclaimed cheerfully, "In fact, I think I can have you all fixed up by the time you reach Hogwarts! How old are you?"

"Ten…. But I'm sorry what's Hogwarts?"

"Well the wizarding school of course," Tuck answered without missing a beat, but he exchanged a meaningful look with Albus. "So you have a full year, that's plenty of time."

"Excellent," Albus said. "When can you start?"

Tucker seemed a little taken aback by the question. "Um when do you need me?"

"The sooner the better," Albus answered with a slightly demanding edge to his carefree tone.

"Erm, sure. How does tomorrow at 8 am sound?"

"Perfect," Albus said, beaming once again.

To Severus and Minerva's horror they stayed another hour, thankfully managing to escape with excuses of "it's been a tiring day," when Tucker threatened dinner.

Harry and Severus were left alone soon after returning home. Severus practically collapsed in the kitchen, too tired to do anything, much less make dinner. Instead he ordered pizza (he had been raised by a muggle father after all).

They ate quickly and then Harry went straight to bed. Severus transfigured a couch in the living room into a bed and instantly passed out. Tomorrow was bound to be an interesting day and he had a feeling he would need lots of sleep for it.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: If I had a dollar for every person who has supported this story then I'd be much richer than I am now! Which isn't saying much considering I'm pretty much broke, but anyway thanks so much! Your reviews, follows, and favorites mean a lot to me:). And I take every review into account while I write, so look forward to having some of your questions answered in the near future.

 **Chapter 12- A Lesson of Sorts**

At 8:00 precisely the next morning Severus apparated directly into a room in John Tucker's house and realized immediately why Albus had landed them so far away. They appeared with sirens blaring and all the doors slamming around them. They were trapped.

"What the-" Severus started when he heard a hissing sound. He sniffed the air and the last thing he thought before he passed out was that he did not have time for this.

Severus groggily awoke to the sounds of someone singing a popular wizarding song at the top of their lungs. He opened his eyes, finding himself in an armchair in Tuck's kitchen. His memories came rushing back to him.

"Jonathan Tucker," he growled, "Explain why you drugged us with sleeping gas when we arrived here for our _planned_ lesson."

Tuck appeared from the next room, today wearing a yellow robe with purple poke-a-dots that gave Snape a headache. "Ah, sorry about that." He smiled sheepishly. "You can never be too careful."

He looked over at Harry who was slumped over in an armchair next to Severus. "He should be waking up any moment now."

Harry's eyes suddenly snapped open and he quickly threw his magic everywhere until he got his bearings. Tuck blocked each burst without blinking and said cheerfully to Harry, "Good morning, kiddo. Sorry about putting you to sleep when you got here. Well at least you'll be nice and refreshed for your lesson."

"You can leave now," he said to Snape without missing a beat.

Severus raised his eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

"There's no need for you to be here. Go do… Whatever you aurors do." Tuck waved his hand in the air as if that explained exactly what aurors do.

Severus just stared at him. If he really thought he was going to trust him with Harry he was clearly out of his mind. "We'll be fine," Tuck said, not reassuring Severus at all. "If you stay you'll just be in the way."

Severus glowered at Tucker but he continued cheerfully. "Come back in three hours. I promise there won't be a repeat of this morning's rather unfortunate event."

Severus stood up, uncertain, frowning deeply. Harry gave him a reassuring smile, "He has good magic," he told Snape as if that explained everything.

Severus sighed. "I will be here at 11:00 sharp." He disappeared with a purposely dramatic flip of his cloak.

After Severus disappeared Tucker just stared at Harry for a moment before he noticed he was making Harry uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, kiddo," he said mildly, "it's just so weird to see you. You're famous you know that right?"

Harry gave him a look that told Tucker he did not at all know that he was famous. "It's cause of the, you know." Tuck made a zigzag motion across his forehead. "Anyway, kiddo I'll do my best not to gape or ask for any autographs. Now let's start with your lesson."

Harry followed him through a few more rooms until they walked into one that Harry noticed the floor felt different. Almost squishy. He looked down to find the floor covered entirely in soft sand. Harry couldn't help but giggle. "Why do you have sand for a floor?"

Tucker grinned, "Why don't you, kiddo? Now here is where your first task is gonna be. I want you to make a sand castle with your mind." He tapped his head with his index finger. "While you do that I'm going to go make some tea."

With that he left Harry alone, staring at the sand rather doubtfully. Then again, Harry had done plenty of things already with magic that he hadn't thought possible so he set to work.

Harry concentrated as hard as he could, picturing a sand castle in his mind and then pushing his magic out into the room. The only thing he accomplished was blowing the sand around after letting out a particularly strong burst of magic.

Harry tried everything, even muttering "sandcastleo formo," under his breath but nothing worked. He didn't even notice when Tucker joined him, leaning against the doorframe with two glasses of steaming green tea deluded in sugar. His eyes watched Harry carefully, his mind noting every action. Harry realized he was there when he let out a burst of frustrated energy and Tucker silently calmed it before it could blow the sand around anymore.

Harry looked back at him, startled, and he walked calmly across the room handing Harry one of the mugs. "Sit with me," Tuck said softly and slid his back against the opposite wall, his legs sprawling out before him in the sand. Harry slid down next to him, cradling his cup of tea.

He sipped it quietly as Tucker talked. "When I was a boy my father used to make me spend time in this very room. Just like you, I had more magic than I could handle and I was willing to do anything to just be normal like my brothers. Every day, I would come in here for hours on end, and let my power surge through until I was so exhausted that I couldn't hurt anyone anymore."

"You see Harry; the walls of this room used to be made entirely of windows so that my parents could look in and make sure I wasn't injuring myself. The windows were gone within the first week and my father had to put up these walls because it was the only thing that could hold me in."

Tucker ran a hand over the thick oak wood, with a distant look on his face. "I ground up those glass shards so much that they turned into sand." Tuck picked up a handful of the fine sand and let it slip through his fingers.

"And for a while I just kept throwing the sand around like you did, letting my power destroy and rage and grow dark. But then one day, I decided why not try to create instead of destroy? Why not make something of all the time I spent in here, something beautiful? So I decided to make a sand castle. Do you wanna know how long it took me to build even the most basic of castles?"

Harry nodded, placing down his now empty tea cup. "Three years." Tucker grinned at the memory, "Man was I excited when I finally did it. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Now I can do it like this."

Tucker snapped his fingers and in mere seconds Harry felt the cool magic rush over him and suddenly they were sitting in front of a ginormous sand castle. It was full of intricate details, windows lining each of the finely carved towers, flags adjourning the top, a full draw bridge and moat surrounding it. Tucker smiled at the sand castle and then pulled his magic back in, allowing the sand to collapse to the ground leaving only a small lump.

He straightened up, "I think you'll find in life that destroying is always easier than creating, that dark is always easier than light, but just because it is easy doesn't mean it is right, remember that kiddo." Tucker picked up both of the mugs and then shot them away without a wand. "Keep practicing, I know you'll get there."

Tucker disappeared into another room and Harry turned thoughtfully back to the sand. At least he knew it was possible now. When Severus found him an hour later he still hadn't succeeded in doing much more than staring at the sand and willing a castle to form but he was in high spirits nevertheless.

"How were your lessons?" Severus asked Harry once they had returned home and had settled into a healthy lunch (Harry still had to make up for years of malnutrition and Snape had every intention of teaching the boy healthy habits before Albus ruined him with his lemon drops).

"Good!" Harry said, beaming in a way that almost looked painful to Severus. Severus thought that Tucker and Albus were having a bad influence on the boy. "I got to make sand castles!"

"Sand castles?" Severus frowned.

"Yeah! Although I wasn't actually able to. But Mr. Tuck said it took him three years to make one so I'm not worried."

Severus forced a smile on his face, "That sounds… Interesting." What he really wanted to ask is what the heck had taken John Tucker three years to build a bloody sandcastle but he decided it was probably best if he didn't ask questions. As long as Tucker taught Potter how to reign in his power, Severus would let him build as many sand castles as he liked.

"Mr. Snape?"

"Yes Harry?" Severus frowned at how tentative the question had sounded.

"Who gave me my scar? And why am I famous for it? It's just that the Dursleys said that my parents had died in a car crash…"

Sometimes Severus forgot how little the boy knew. He sighed, "The Dark Lord gave you that scar." Harry shivered at the name; apparently it had triggered a few memories from Snape that were less than pleasant. "He killed your parents and then turned on you. That scar is the mark of the killing curse, a spell no wizard or witch had ever survived, until you. The spell rebounded and the Dark Lord disappeared that day. That's why you're famous; you destroyed the darkest, most powerful wizard our world has ever known."

"But he's not gone."

"No." Severus watched the boy carefully as he took a bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully.

After a moment Harry stated, "Well then that's a rather silly thing to be famous for."

Severus let out a snort. How different could Potter have possibly been from the boy he had expected him to be- rich and spoiled just like his father? "It gave our world ten years of peace. That, to many people, was invaluable."

Harry gave a small smile, but Severus didn't even need Legilemens to know what he was thinking. To Harry, it had not been 11 years of peace. He had sacrificed more than just his parent's on that day- he had given his entire childhood and any chance at a normal life.

At the end of the meal, when Harry took his potions, Severus made sure he gave him an extra big piece of chocolate.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: We are at the point in this story where it's nearly half way over! Woohoo! Your reviews are wonderful and inspiring. Thanks and enjoy!

 **Chapter 13- Life Goes On**

It wasn't long before their lives fell into an odd sort of schedule that everyone involved grew accustomed to. Severus would drop Harry off at Tuck's house and then apparate to the ministry for work. Minerva would pick Harry up and watch him until Severus returned home, usually around five, at which time Albus would sometimes join them for dinner. Him and Severus had come to a silent understanding- they would tolerate each other, treat each other with respect if only for the boy's sake, but their relationship ended there. At 8 everyone would leave and Snape would give Harry a dreamless sleep potion and tuck him in (which he would never admit to anyone). Life went on.

That was until a familiar case appeared on Severus's desk one morning. Severus flipped through it, skimming the words he had already read over in his free time. He looked up at Madame Bones, "Why are you giving me this? I thought you already had Shacklebolt and his team on the case."

She sighed. "I did, but it's been a month, Severus. The press is going wild, and the story has barely died down since this whole mess began. I need a fresh pair of eyes on this case. Any ordinary ten year old boy could hardly support himself for this long; he must have some type of help."

"He is no ordinary boy," Severus responded drily, grabbing the thick file and standing. "I will do my best."

Madame Bones thanked him and walked back to her office. Her eyes lingered on Severus as he walked to the lift with a deliberate pace to his gait. Something had changed him in the week he'd had off. She couldn't help but thinking that it had something to do with the way he kept subconsciously rubbing his arm- Madame Bones was well aware of what was concealed there.

She took a short trip to the file room, flipping through the worn papers until she found it. "Severus Snape," small letters running along the top of the file read. She cast the spell to unseal the records and picked them up delicately, hesitation written over her face. With the first thought that Voldemort might be back her mind was made for her and she tucked the overflowing folder under her arm. Time to find out what Severus was hiding.

While Severus was plotting what to do about his new case his target was standing in what he had dubbed as the "sand room." Tuck had stuck to his lesson- all Harry did, the entire time, was try to build sand castles.

And while that had held his attention for about two lessons, he was a ten year old boy and frustration quickly caught up to him. Now, after a whole month with no results, Harry was about at wits end. Tucker had told him plenty of stories and given him plenty of tea but not once had he given him any tips. The promise that "you'll get there eventually," had somehow lost it's meaning after the millions of times Tucker had repeated it.

Harry stood in the middle, desperately trying to choke down the feeling of hopeless rage that was rising in him. He clenched his fists together so tightly that his knuckles turned white, knowing that this was exactly what he needed to learn to control. Squeezing his eyes shut he took deep breathes, trying to slow the rapid beating of his heart and the hot blood thrumming angrily through his veins.

He remembered instantly why he didn't like to close his eyes.

The images flashed through his mind, some of them Severus's memories, some of them his own- they all blurred into one- the image of an angry man coming after Harry again and again. The blows were ceaseless and it wasn't long before the man wrapped his hands around Harry's throat, squeezing his air pipe so tightly that the air was forced out in a rush. With that Harry lost it.

He was barely conscious of what he was doing as the sand rose into the air, each particle vibrating with the intense surge in energy. With a cry he sent the sand flying, whirling through the room. The particles hit Harry, forcing his eyes shut again and rubbing his skin raw which only brought the memories back adding fuel to his fire. His energy spiraled out of control as the wave of emotions flooded over him- it was all too much.

Suddenly Harry felt a shift as all his energy gathered into one. It was if an external force was controlling it, yet Harry somehow knew deep inside that the force was him, a different side of him. The ball of energy quivered around him as the sand continued to swirl violently through the room. Harry could feel the energy pushing to get out, pushing to destroy.

A strange hissing filled his ears and he could make out words- _kill, ruin, destroy, take, burn, rip, killl…_ The hissing grew louder until it was a scream in Harry's head. He tried to keep the energy together, tried to reabsorb it into himself but he knew it was too late. His scar felt like it was splitting open as he fell to his knees and the energy was released with a resounding bang.

The house didn't stand a chance. The blast tore through the rooms, destroying everything in its path in a blaze of intense heat that swallowed everything into flames. It took a matter of seconds for the house to disappear into a pile of ash, but luckily Tuck had developed quick reflexes from growing up with a ton of older brothers. He apparated away as soon as he felt the bubble of energy burst, knowing that its power was beyond his ability to stop or even slow it.

He popped into Severus's house and sprinted through the rooms, looking wildly for Snape. When he didn't find him he paced wildly around the living room, "Where in Merlin's name could he be?" he muttered to himself. "Ah the ministry!" he exclaimed to no one in particular.

Tucker quickly silenced the wards as he apparated into the ministry, chuckling to himself about how easy it was to smother them with power. Any wizard with the particular skill of Harry and him could easily apparate in unnoticed.

Unfortunately his magic could not turn off the attention of other wizards. A younger witch in front of him spluttered, "What the- where did you- what?"

The poor witch couldn't even get a full sentence out. Tuck ignored her and got right to business. "I need to speak to Auror Snape. Where is he?"

The girl just gaped like a fish out of water. Tucker suddenly wished he was wearing something other than his lime green robes with blue stripes; maybe then somebody would actually take his authorative tone seriously. "Legilemens," he whispered and easily entered the mind of the young auror who clearly had no occlumency training. Thankfully his question had brought Severus to the front of her thoughts so he didn't need to look far.

Releasing her he apparated away, a small smirk on his face from what he had seen. It looked like dear old Snape had a lady fan. When he arrived at his destination, Tucker had to stop about nine spells fired his way before he could announce his presence to Severus.

He stood in his father's old cabin, breathing heavily, his wand still raised. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snarled.

"Harry…" Tucker didn't get past that part of the sentence before Severus dissaparated. He sighed, he could have been saying that Harry had turned into bloody Lord Voldemort but Severus apparently didn't care. He quickly followed Snape, landing in front of the charred remains of his house a second later.

Tucker had never seen Severus express so much emotion as first shock, then horror, and then an overwhelming sense of pain washed over his face before his mask slid back on. Severus turned to Tucker and the mask slipped back off, this time showing uncontrollable rage.

Tucker barely blocked the first unexpected curse as it shot his way. He leaped backwards, quelling spell after spell as Severus shot Unforgivables and plenty of dark curses at him. "You were supposed to protect him," Severus screamed, the pain apparent in his voice.

"Severus," Tucker started. "Severus listen!" He shot a burst of power at Snape causing him to lose his wand and pinning him to the ground. "I can still sense his magic. Harry is still alive. But he won't be for long if you insist on attacking the only person who can help."

Severus gaped at him, hope suddenly filling him, lifting the impenetrable weight that had fallen over him at the thought of the boy dying. Tucker released him and he leapt to his feet, running towards the wreckage. It was still smoking, the coals glowing a bright red.

Severus quickly cast an aguamente and dosed the smoldering wood in gallons of water. The coals hissed angrily, letting up gigantic puffs of steam. Tucker moved to Severus's side, "He's over there." He pointed to a pile of coals a few meters from them.

As soon as Severus was in no imminent threat of burning alive he stepped onto the coals, hearing them crunch under his feet as he walked steadily towards were Tucker had pointed, his hands trembling. "Harry," he called out softly. "You're going to be okay, Harry."

His heart wrenched as nothing moved under the piles of ashes. How could anyone survive that? He stopped right in front of the spot, kneeling down on the ash. Severus could barely get his hands to move they were shaking so badly as he started to dig. Soon he could feel the air trembling in front of his hands- the feel of Harry's magic.

This snapped Severus back into action and he started digging frantically, throwing up handfuls of still hot ash, barely noticing as he burned his fingers. It wasn't long before Harry was completely revealed in front of him and Severus could see how he had survived.

It looked like Harry was surrounded by a force field. His magic formed a shield around him, repelling the debris. Harry was curled up in the center, unmoving. "Harry," Severus choked out in relief, "Harry it's okay I'm here."

The boy didn't even stir. Severus looked helplessly up at Tucker who just frowned, looking unsure on how to proceed. Severus gently reached a hand forward, cautiously touching the bubble. The magic immersed his finger, a strangely soothing feeling as the energy felt as cool and controlled as Tucker's always did.

"Let him sense you," Tucker told Severus quietly, his eyes fixed on the force field, his hand on his wand.

Severus proceeded slowly until his whole hand was surrounded by the swirling magic. He noticed with a start that his blackened finger tips had faded back into a light pink, looking as if they had never been burned. Taking a deep breathe, Severus reached down the last inch to place his hand on Harry's shoulder.

The force field flared once, throwing off a brilliant white light. Then it slowly faded away, the magic receding back into the unconscious boy. Severus felt it drain away until there was nothing left and then he scooped the boy up pulling him tightly to his chest.

He let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding and just stood there for a moment, letting the trembling that had overtaken his body fade. He carried Harry away from the ashes and laid him on the soft grain.

Tucker followed his chain of thought and was quickly besides him running every diagnostic spell he could think of. After they were certain that Harry was completely fine (even the abrasions from the sand had been healed by his magic) Tucker cast another spell. He looked at his wand and whistled quietly.

"What is it?" Severus barked at him with a little less sharpness in his voice than normal.

Tucker showed him his wand, which had a ball of glowing dark purple light on the end. Severus just raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yes, of course you wouldn't know…" Tucker ignored Severus's dirty look.

"This is a measure of how much magic is left in the core of a wizard. Each color means something, starting with yellow at the lowest, then green, then red, then purple, and then at the very top blue. Every wizard has a resting level, but his or her core is depleted every time a spell is performed or in Harry's case magic is used in any other way. After performing magic with the power to do _that_ ," Tucker pointed at his ruined house, "his core should be nearly completely depleted, a yellow. Even I would be down to a red, but I am a full grown wizard." Tucker stared at his wand in wonder, hardly blinking as if he thought the color would suddenly change.

"Does the dark tint mean anything?" Severus asked, hardly surprised by the results. He knew Harry was extraordinarily powerful; the test just gave him an exact measurement.

Tucker examined the light and winced. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that," he muttered, canceling the spell. "This spell was also created to measure the capacity for dark magic in a wizard. And as you can see, Mr. Potter has quite an affinity for dark magic."

"Although that does not mean he will become a dark wizard, only that he would find that path very easy," Tucker added hastily, looking at the boy whose face was twisted up in the start of a nightmare. "I suggest you take him home now, it's been a long day. We can discuss the remainder of his lessons tomorrow."

Severus looked at his obliterated house and hesitantly asked, "Do you… Will you need a place to stay tonight?" His face made it clear that asking the question had caused him a great deal of mental trauma.

Tuck laughed, "Don't worry, I have other arrangements."

When he didn't elaborate Severus just nodded stiffly and gathered Harry up in his arms, noticing how the boy quieted, his face looking slightly more peaceful. Severus tightened his grip on the boy and quickly disapparated away before Tucker could change his mind.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are truly wonderful. To answer some of the questions in the reviews Tucker is an OC and I do plan on writing the rest of Harry's years, although it might take a bit of time. This is just the first installment in what will likely be an 8 book series.

 **Chapter 14- The Run Away**

Harry wasn't even the slightest bit disoriented when he woke the next day; tired but not so tired that it dulled the flood of emotion choking him. The last thing he remembered was losing control of his power and everything going black. He was clearly back at his house so Mr. Snape must not have realized what he had done yet.

What he had done- Harry squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears to disappear. Willing for it all to disappear, to be some type of awful nightmare. When his eyes opened again it showed the same room, in the same world where he, Harry Potter was a murderer. He had killed his only blood relatives left who had taken him in out of charity. He had killed the first dozen wizards he had ever laid eyes on, left their crumpled bodies lying on the floor. And now he had killed Tuck, who had just been trying to help, who had been kind and brave…

And no matter how Harry looked at it he came to one conclusion- that he was a monster. The Dursleys were right; he was a freak, even a freak among wizards and was a danger to everyone around him. All he brought, and all he could ever bring, was pain and darkness to those around him.

Which left Harry with one choice- he had to leave. Mr. Snape may not realize it yet, but every day he cared for Harry he put himself in danger. Harry was not going to kill Mr. Snape, and he couldn't stop the devil inside, so he _had_ to leave.

The very thought made it feel like someone was ripping Harry's heart into shreds, so he pushed it away focusing only on what he had to do. He made a make-shift knapsack out of Severus's sheets, having imagined this all too many times when life at the Dursleys got especially rough.

Tears ran silently down his face as he gathered his supplies- the potions Mr. Snape had spent all night slaving away to make for him, the food that Mr. Snape had bought just so he could grow strong, the clothes that Mr. Snape had bought just for him- everything a painful reminder of what he was leaving behind, what he had to leave behind.

Finally it was time to go. But Harry couldn't leave without saying goodbye. He dug through drawers quietly until he found a quill and sheet of parchment. Mr. Snape had been teaching him to write after dinner, an opportunity he'd never had before because the Dursleys had kept him out of school because freaks did not belong with the general public.

With a trembling hand Harry slowly carved out the words, splotches of ink smearing the page where the tears dripped freely from his face. The note was small, but it would have to do. Harry straightened up, steadying himself with a deep breath. Only a month ago he would have reveled in the idea of leaving, of being able to take care of himself and only himself but that was before Mr. Snape.

Harry tiptoed right past Severus, who was passed out on his new bed in the living room; having stayed up all night to make sure Harry didn't have any nightmares and finally giving into sleep only an hour before. Harry found he couldn't even look at him as he opened the front door and stepped out into a new life.

When Severus awoke a few hours later he knew instinctively something was wrong. There was just a feeling in his gut, a feeling he had learned to trust after years of being an auror. He prayed his gut was wrong with this one but as soon as he entered his (now Harry's) room his worst fears were confirmed. The bed was empty, Harry was gone.

For a second Severus just froze, staring at the bed in shock as his heart sunk. This could not be happening. He shook himself and searched the house briefly, stopping when he reached the kitchen and saw the small slip of parchment lying on the table.

Severus felt like he was walking through mud as he approached the letter, every part of him screaming for him not to read it. He picked it up.

Dear Mr. Snape,

By the time you are reading this I will be gone. Do not look for me. I am too dangerous. Thank you for everything you did. I'm so sorry.

It was left unsigned. The tear stains had dried and left the parchment speckled in the black ink. Severus let the letter drop from his hands, barely making it to the chair before his knees caved in. He faintly recognized what was happening- he had been wracked by panic attacks as a child. The thought didn't register in his empty mind as his breathing grew speedy and shallow, his vision blurring as oxygen flow plummeted.

Just before his vision went dark an image of the green-eyed boy flashed across his mind, jolting him back to consciousness. Severus leapt up, ignoring the vertigo caused by the sudden movement. His breathing was far from regular, but he didn't care. He would not have a panic attack now, not when Harry needed him. His thoughts were clear despite the lack of oxygen- first he needed help. And he knew exactly where to go.

Harry had spent the morning walking. Spring had just started to take hold of the world and the earth around him was coming alive. Flowers poked out of the soil, their shoots reaching desperately towards the sun which slowly warmed up the chilly morning. Birds chirped in the trees. All around him, the joy of life was showing yet Harry saw none of it.

He trudged on, not stopping when his legs went numb, not stopping when his stomach burned with hunger, not stopping as the afternoon sun scorched his revealed neck. When he finally found he could go no further, Harry ducked into tree cover bordering the road. It was a small forest; Harry explored the length of it in a matter of minutes. A small river trickled through the center and trees towered high above him. It would do until he figured out where he was going.

Harry collapsed into a broad oak, sinking into the soft moss. Despite his hunger he felt sick and could only manage to nibble on a piece of bread. Harry felt exhausted; his tears had run out long ago and now he was just left with an empty, sinking feeling in his stomach. Harry closed his eyes, remembering the newspaper he had discovered a few weeks earlier.

Harry didn't think he had been meant to see it; he had woken up late to go to the bathroom and had stopped in the kitchen for a glass of water. There he had found the newspaper, lying in a heap on the table. Harry had seen the pictures move on Severus's news before- apparently a condition unique to wizards photos- and he was curious to see them move again.

He picked up the newspaper and flipped it open to the front page. Immediately he dropped it in surprise. The paper drifted to the floor, landing face up. Harry saw himself on the paper, chained to the table as he had been at the Ministry. He was covered in blood and his eyes held a near feral look as he looked at the camera.

Harry had taught himself to read bits and pieces from Dudley's discarded picture books. He picked up the paper with shaking hands, his brain struggling to process the title. "Harry Potter Kills Three Muggles and Five Aurors in a Vicious Attack that Astounds the Ministry." Harry sank heavily into the wooden kitchen chair, his eyes locked on the crazed animal before him. The Ministry had chained him to the chair for a reason. Harry forced himself to read on, not understanding every word but getting the big picture. The ending was very clear- if you have any information on Harry Potter you must report to the Ministry immediately. The aurors were looking for him, and they weren't going to stop until they found him.

It was a long time before Harry had broken out of his thoughts and returned to bed that night. He had dreamed about a prison cell and ever since had dreaded the fate that surely awaited him. Mr. Snape would never turn him in, but Mr. Snape wouldn't be able to stop the entire Ministry.

By the end of the flashback Harry knew exactly what he must do. He formed the picture of the interrogation room in his mind; focusing on the feeling he had felt when he had apparated for the first time to Severus's cabin. He prepared himself for the pain and then, taking a deep breath, he pushed his magic out in a huge wave. Harry disappeared with a loud crack.

Severus reached Harry's last destination only minutes after Harry had left. Tucker led the way, using his magic to pick up Harry's trail. Minerva and Dumbledore trailed behind, equal looks of fear and dread on their faces. Severus had gone numb, focusing his entire being on finding the boy. As long as he kept moving he could ignore the tearing pain inside of him, as long as he kept moving he could keep sane.

Tucker paced the area, pushing his magic farther and farther. Harry had been here, that was certain- there was more traces of magic here than anywhere else- but the question was where he had gone. It was as if he had just disappeared from this very spot. Tuck peered down at the tree, seeing the small indentation in the moss at the last place Harry had been. Tucked into the roots was a small nap sack made of familiar dark green sheets. He felt the magic spike suddenly there and realized what happened with a stab of dread.

Severus missed nothing and asked him sharply, "What's going on? What did you find?"

Tucker turned sympathetic eyes onto Harry's guardian, "He's gone. He dissaparated, I can't track the trail because he just used his magic to do it, he didn't cast anything." Tucker shook his head, waving his wand violently over the area and muttering things. "It's useless."

Severus couldn't handle it any more. He let out a roar, turning to a nearby tree and letting out a stream of magic with his wand. The others just watched the broken man as he destroyed the tree, slashing and shouting spells until it was reduced into piles of burning splinters scattered across the mossy earth. When there was nothing left to destroy, Severus lowered his wand, panting.

"The only thing we can do now is return home and wait for Harry to return," Minerva said softly, ready for another outburst. To her surprise Severus just nodded dully and apparated back.

The four of them sat in agony in Severus's living room as they awaited news. All attempts at conversation had been given up, so now they just sat in silence, alone with their thoughts. Minerva kept glancing worriedly at Severus, who had completely shut down, but didn't think there was anything she could do.

In an hour their wait was over when a sharp knock announced a presence at their door. Minerva had never seen Severus move so fast as he leaped up and rushed to the entrance. He flung the door open to find Kingsley Shacklebolt standing outside.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: You guys are the best readers anyone could hope for:). Thanks again, I hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 15- The Interrogation**

Kingsley nodded politely to Severus, pointedly ignoring his disheveled appearance. "May I come in?"

Severus deflated and nodded, stepping out of the way to let him inside. The other guests looked curiously up at Shacklebolt who hovered in the living room, looking unsure on where to go. "Minerva, Albus," he greeted, turning to Tuck with a questioning look. "John Tucker," he provided.

"We can speak in the kitchen," Severus bit out, leading Shacklebolt out of the room.

Shacklebolt cast a silencing spell and sat down with Severus at the table. "Why were you absent from work last evening and this morning?" he asked, failing in his attempt to make his question sound like professional interest rather than an interrogation.

"I had… personal matters to attend to," Severus drawled out carefully, looking Shacklebolt straight in the eye who, to his credit, didn't even flinch.

He nodded, "I'm assuming those matters have something to do with your friend who was somehow able to apparate into the auror department yesterday?"

It took a second for Severus to realize who he was talking about. "Yes," he answered coolly, "But I trust you are here for another reason than to interrogate me about my personal life."

Shacklebolt was still suspicious, but he had more important matters to attend to. "We've apprehended the Potter boy. He turned himself in around an hour ago, just appearing in the interrogation room. We have placed him in a more secure room and have started the interrogation. He refuses to speak, we need your expertise."

Severus's heart sank but thankfully years of playing a double agent had taught him how to school his features. "I'll be in right away."

Shacklebolt thanked him and took his leave. It was clear that the others had found a way past the silencing spell because as soon as Severus reentered the room they informed him that he had to go to the Ministry. He had to help Harry.

Severus agreed completely and his mind was already filled with schemes to help him. Best case scenario was to clear Harry's name and gain guardianship over him, without implicating himself. Worst case scenario was Harry got the Dementor's Kiss- an idea so awful that Severus could barely consider it.

He proceeded straight to the ministry and it wasn't long before he found himself staring through the one way mirror at the emerald eyed boy who sat chained to the table as if nothing had happened in the past month. That was, until his eyes impossibly met Severus and filled with crushing relief.

The two other aurors in the observation room gasped when they saw Harry look their way. Severus had never gotten around to investigating how exactly Harry could see through the charmed mirror, but he found that now he couldn't care less how Harry could see him, he was just glad that he could because Severus had a brilliant idea that might just work.

He silently cast a legilimens on Harry and felt the air tremble around him as he slowly entered his mind. The surprised gasps of the surrounding aurors were drowned out by Harry's swirling thoughts.

At first his thoughts were confused and panicked and Severus could feel the start of the wall being thrown up. He paused, waiting to feel Harry's magic quiet before he continued to enter his mind. As soon as Severus could see the recent memory of Harry running away he stopped and opened up his own mind, thinking only one thought repeatedly.

He felt the tendrils of Harry's magic slowly enter his mind, carefully searching until they found what Severus wanted him to find.

 _Harry, if you ever run away again I will not hesitate to magically attach you to my side so you can no longer move more than a foot away from me, do I make myself clear?_

Harry startled at the sound of Severus talking in his mind, an odd sensation and then bit down a smile at the words.

 _Yes sir._

 _I am going to do my best to get you out of here but to do that the Ministry must believe that I have an unbiased opinion. When I go into the interrogation room you must act as if you have never seen me before and are frightened of me. In fact if we have any chance to get the charges dropped you need to act terrified of every adult you encounter today. You will have to be very brave._

 _I can do it_ , Harry thought back confidently.

 _Just be careful,_ Severus thought in a tone filled more with concern than strictness. He pulled out of Harry's mind.

"I'm ready to start the interrogation now," he told the other aurors coldly and swept out of the room without waiting for their agreement. He clutched tightly to the file which held the incriminating evidence that could put Harry away for the rest of his life.

Severus mentally prepared himself for what he must do. He must treat Potter like the violent murderer the Ministry believed he was. He hadn't prepared Harry for this because the fear needed to be real, and seeing fear in his emerald eyes and knowing it was caused by him was going to hurt.

Letting out a deep breath Severus schooled his face into one of cold rage and hatred. He slammed the door open with a loud bang and strode angrily into the room. Harry jumped at the sudden noise, the chains restraining the movement.

Severus glowered at the boy, looking at him in pure disgust. Harry was wide eyed and trembling but Severus couldn't stop there. He slammed his hand down loudly on the interrogation table the bang resonating through the room causing Harry to flinch. Severus felt Harry's magic flare up then quickly drain away and when he got a closer look at his restraints he realized why.

Harry was bonded by what was known as DeMagicked Cuffs. They drained the magic from a wizard as soon as he or she tried to call upon it. This was an extremely painful and draining experience and was usually only used on wizards who had performed the most powerful of dark magic. It had, in fact, been banned for use on minors with the exception of any wizard who was considered a terrorist.

Harry Potter, the destroyer of Lord Voldemort, a terrorist. Severus watched in barely disguised horror as Harry started to panic. The pain only caused him to release more magic, which continued the vicious cycle. If Harry didn't stop soon he could drain his magic entirely, maybe even permanently.

"Harry Potter," Severus sneered, silently begging the boy to make eye contact with him. "Clearly since you turned yourself in you know why you're here. We don't need any more evidence to convict you; we just need to know _why_ now."

Severus violently tore open the file and grabbed the stack of eight pictures, one for each victim. He slammed them down, one by one, in front of Harry forcing him to face the bloodied and mangled bodies of his victims.

Tears fell silently down Harry's face as he feebly struggled against the chains while staring in horror at the pictures. Unlike all other magic pictures, these didn't move because each of the bodies were dead. Severus could feel the pictures escalating the rapid flow of power out of Harry. He was fading fast.

"You can stop trying to attack me like you did them, Potter. Clearly your undersized brain hasn't caught on to the fact that your restraints disable your magic."

Harry stopped struggling instantly, looking up helplessly at Severus who forced himself to harden his features. "Now tell me why you killed eight people."

Harry's lip quivered but he seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Alright then I'll tell you why I think you killed them. Because you're a freak, a bloody fucking freak who cares about no one except himself. You think just because you killed the Dark Lord you can do whatever you want. Well here's a reality check, Potter, the whole world hates you. Both Muggles and Wizards see you for what you truly are- a monster. Do you even know what their names are, Potter? They had families; what are you going to tell the wives that are left husband less or the children who lost their parents?"

Severus was shouting by now, his dark eyes blazing with flames. "What should I say to them?" he roared again, bringing both hands down so violently that the metal table shook. His face was brought within inches of Harry, who had completely shut down. He stared up at him in terror, but he didn't see Severus. Instead he saw his Uncle Vernon and his stomach twisted violently as he thought of the beating he was about to receive.

"I guess you have nothing to say," Severus said in a low, dark whisper that was infinitely more terrifying than his yelling. He removed his hands from the table, a false calm overtaking him. He sat quietly across from Harry, his eyes studiously running over him, calculating what it would take to crack him.

"It seems that you leave me no choice," Severus said in that same deadly whisper. Harry's eyes were tortured as he met Severus's. "Legilimens," he said loud enough to alert the people in the other room.

Severus was not expecting the state of Harry's mind as he entered. He was not anticipating Harry's magic to be so weakened that he wasn't met with any wall. It happened so fast that Severus couldn't back track, he slid right into Harry's current thoughts and was surrounded instantly by the darkness.

Severus was surrounded by black. The only sound was his ragged breathing and pounding heart as he sat in silence, waiting. If he couldn't feel the walls closing in around him and see the tiny flick of light filtering in through cracks in the door Severus would have thought he was nowhere at all.

His eyes could barely make out the tiny form sleeping fitfully in front of him. The boy, who couldn't be older than 5, was tossing and turning in his sleep. Severus could almost feel his distress and watched as he bit his lip to keep from crying out, an unconscious act in his sleep that spoke volumes to Severus. Harry hadn't even been allowed to cry.

All of Severus was screaming at him to help Harry, to comfort the poor tortured boy but he knew it would be futile. This was only a memory; Harry's fate was already sealed. He was going to stay in this nightmare, for years more, and there was nothing Severus could do. This made it infinitely more difficult to watch Harry, but Severus found he couldn't pull his eyes away.

After what felt like an eternity Severus heard loud footsteps on the stairs and a sharp rap on Harry's door. "Up, up," screeched a familiar voice and the footsteps receded to the kitchen.

Harry awoke with a start, hastily wiping the tears from his eyes as he took in the cupboard with desolate despair that made Severus's heart clench painfully in his chest. Harry pushed open the tiny door, squinting in the sudden morning light.

Harry stumbled over the hem of his ratty PJs that dwarfed his starved body. Severus followed him to the kitchen where Petunia stood waiting. Harry flinched when he saw the frying pan in her hand and held out trembling hands for it. Petunia hardly looked down as she dropped the pan heavily into Harry's awaiting hands. "I expect breakfast to be ready in ten minutes," she addressed the air, refusing to even acknowledge Harry's existence.

"Yes ma'am," Harry mumbled. Petunia suddenly slapped him so hard that Harry jumped back startled, dropping the frying pan with a resounding crash onto the tiled floor. Hot grease spilled everywhere.

"Now look what you did, you freak!" Aunt Petunia yelled, grabbing hold of Harry and shaking him violently. "What did I say about mumbling? Sounding like those alcoholic wrecks your parents were. Clean up this mess, cook breakfast and then go back to your closet. You've lost your meal privileges for today."

She gave Harry a disgusted look and walked by him, waiting until he dropped to the floor to start mopping up the oil and purposefully stepping on his right hand. Severus heard it crunch sickeningly under her weight. Harry bit his tongue so hard it drew blood but didn't cry out. He screwed his eyes shut and pushed back tears that fell regardless.

Petunia walked to the sink and slowly, with a grotesque smirk twisting up her long face, started to wash her hands. She deliberately scrubbed her hands vigorously; Severus supposed she was "washing the freak off her hands." Harry shakily stood, using his left hand because his dominant hand was already swelling.

Harry worked as fast as he could, scrubbing the ground and frying eggs and bacon on the sizzling pan but he could only work so fast, especially with only one hand. When Uncle Vernon stomped down the stairs for breakfast Harry wasn't finished.

He didn't even bother to ask why Harry was late; he just marched heavily into the kitchen. Harry cringed but didn't turn his back as Vernon approached him, his face boiling with anger. He cuffed a sharp blow to Harry's ear, hard enough to knock Harry off balance. Harry reached out to catch himself, mistakenly grabbing on to the counter with his right hand.

With a muffled shout Harry collapsed to the floor, cradling his broken hand. Uncle Vernon didn't hesitate- he started to kick Harry violently, aiming for his exposed stomach and chest. "Get your ass up, boy!" Uncle Vernon roared, ceasing his attack long enough for Harry to stumble back to his feet.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, choking back sobs and trying to keep his voice steady. "It'll be ready in a minute."

"It better be," Uncle Dursley said darkly and he walked back to the table muttering "freak" and "good for nothing" under his breath.

Harry managed to avoid being hit again all through breakfast while he was forced to stand in the corner of the room and watch his Aunt and Uncle eat, being ready to clear their plates when they were done. Dudley clambered into the kitchen and Severus could immediately tell that even though he was around the age of 6 he was just as cruel as his parents.

He laughed uncontrollably when he saw Harry in the corner, especially when he caught sign of his hand that had swelled to the size of a small balloon. "Does the little freak have a booboo?" he sang.

Harry's teeth clenched, but he stayed silent as Dudley taunted him. Then, once Dudley had eaten all he possibly could, he chucked his plate across the room at Harry. Harry barely had time to duck before the plate shattered, raining glass shards and bits of half- eaten breakfast down on him.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't bat an eye. "Clean it up," they barked at their invisible nephew and they got on with their day. It was if Harry wasn't even human in their eyes.

Severus felt sick; he'd had more than enough of Harry's memories. He pulled out and stood there gasping for breath, not having to force the look of horrified surprise on his face. Harry had his eyes squeezed shut and his breathing was rapid yet shallow. Severus could tell when he had left the memory it had stayed in Harry's mind- he was still reliving it.

Severus reached out a hand to draw Harry back. He remembered where he was and quickly pulled his hand back, his eyes blurring with tears as he watched Harry's face twist in the memory of the impossible horrors he had faced. It was a long moment before Severus had regained enough composure to pull himself away. Until then he kept his face pointedly turned from the interrogation room, he couldn't let them see him like this.

Finally Severus took a deep breath and walked out of the interrogation room. The simple act of walking out of that room must have been the hardest thing Severus had ever done, especially because Harry had started to whimper- terror and despair held in every note.

Severus bit his tongue so hard the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He stepped quietly into the observation room, meeting the curious faces with a practiced hardened look. Madame Bones approached him instantly, her voice filled with uncharacteristic concern, "What did you see?"

The question echoed through Severus's mind. What had he just seen? Certainly not anything he ever wanted to see again, not anything anyone deserved to see much less live through. Severus didn't respond. He slumped into one of the wooden chairs set up for watching.

What had he just seen? Severus noted bleakly that his legs were trembling so violently that the chair was shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut so he didn't have to see them anymore, but more importantly he didn't have to see the boy caught in a living nightmare in the other room. The boy who was left completely alone.

The room had gone silent; everyone had similar expressions of shock as they watched the ruthless and unflappable auror who had never so much as flinched at a crime scene crumble before them. "Severus?" Madame Bones prompted gently.

Severus shook himself from his thoughts, turning his head to face the room of awestruck aurors. "He can't be held accountable for his actions."

The room erupted at his statement, many with angry outbursts pointing out that he was a murderer. He had killed five of their own. Madame Bones seemed to be the only one unaffected by the statement, she just watched Severus with a guarded look. When the aurors refused to quiet down she cast a silent silencing spell.

The looks on the auror's faces when they realized what had happened was priceless but Severus couldn't enjoy it. The images of Harry's "family" were still flashing through his head. It felt as if a dementor had sucked all the joy from Severus, he felt cold and distant and…

"Why can't he be held accountable for his actions?"

Severus once again startled, staring at Madame Bones as if he had forgotten she was there. "He was afraid."

Bones sighed, growing frustrated with his one sentence answers. Most of the time she couldn't get Severus to shut up when he reported back to her, using all these fancy phrases. Right now he almost was acting like he was in shock. "Of what? Who? Look Severus you need to give me more than that if you truly think he isn't responsible. The whole wizarding world wants him in Azkaban; some are even calling for the Dementor's Kiss."

A switch seemed to flip in Severus at the phrase "Dementor's Kiss." He stood up suddenly, the dark fire dancing dangerously in his eyes as he addressed Madame Bones. "First of all, the boy is ten, was raised by Muggles, and has no wand. Any magic he was able to perform, therefor, was clearly accidental magic, a thing that all magical children perform regardless or not if they defeated Lord Voldemort as a baby. The only difference is the severity of the magic, which I'm assuming if you run the appropriate tests you will find that he has power that could easily cause such a powerful blast."

"But what is of more importance is what I found in his head- memories from his life with his Muggle relatives. Just one memory tells me that he was severely abused and neglected, both physically and mentally. He feared for his life with the Dursleys, and that day his magic flared up to protect him. When we brought him in he was already on an adrenaline high, already terrified and when he felt someone entering his mind it scared him. He knew nothing of magic, so when he felt something taking over his thoughts he panicked. He is nothing more than a child who acted out of fear, and if the Ministry has started punishing minors for accidental magic then you might as well accept my registration because that is sickening."

Severus finished with a defiant glare, a look that dared Madame Bones to argue with him. Sadly, Madame Bones seemed rather unaffected by Severus's rant (having heard it all too many before). Instead she just seemed thoughtful. "There is no need for you to quit, Severus," she told him sounding a little exasperated. "But I do want to see this memory."

Severus froze up, "I don't think you do."

Madame Bones narrowed her eyes at him, "For evidence purposes, Severus, I need to view that memory. You know that."

Severus reluctantly complied, taking the small glass bottle Madame Bones had conjured up for him. He recalled the memory, shuddering from the sheer hatred in Vernon's and Petunia's eyes. He tapped his wand against his forehead, pulling away the threads of the memory. The silver tendrils twisted and wrapped around each other. Severus placed them in the bottle, looking at Madame Bones with darkened eyes as he handed the memory to her, "I don't need to see it again."

She nodded. "You can go."

Severus didn't hesitate. The door shut behind him just as the silencing spell was canceled and the room was filled with voices once again.

Severus knew the risks. But he also knew he could no longer stay away, he would never be able to live with himself if he did. His mind made up, he strode purposefully into the room next door, not a hint of hesitation in his step.

He rushed to Harry, who was still caught in the unending nightmare. His hand closed around his shoulder, his heart hammering loudly as he felt how weak the magic was that swirled up to meet him. It collected right below his hand; Severus could feel the air vibrate gently, light enough that the restraints didn't pull it away.

It was a while before Harry started to relax, his whimpers quieting, his face slowly untwisting until it was calm. Severus felt Harry's power recede back into him and Harry looked noticeably less pale. He still looked as if he had just come out of a war zone.

Severus squeezed his shoulder gently and Harry's eyes slowly fluttered open. They flittered across the room, looking dazed and confused before they focused on Snape. Harry briefly tried to reach up and hug him. The restraints held him back and his memories came flooding back to him.

Harry felt the tears rising in him and he quickly lowered his eyes. He felt a hand softly push his head back up, forcing him to look into the deep brown eyes of his guardian. They seemed to hold a question- _may I?_ Harry nodded bleakly, too tired to resist.

Severus gently entered his mind, creeping forward so slowly that no memories were jarred free. _I'm so sorry,_ he whispered into Harry's mind, watching as in real life Harry slowly crumpled before him. _You're going to be okay. They'll never hurt you again, no one will ever hurt you again._

 _You promise?_ Harry asked, his emerald eyes wide with hope and unshed tears.

 _I promise._

Severus let go of Harry's chin as the tears started to fall. Once Harry started it seemed he couldn't stop, his sobs racking his tiny frame as Severus kept his hand on his shoulder, the pressure anchoring him to reality.

Harry wanted to hug Severus, wanted the reassuring weight of Severus's arms and the softness of his cloak, but right now he knew that couldn't happen. Right now he had to hold on to the gentle hand on his shoulder; that had to be enough. And it was. Because now Harry knew for certain- he wasn't alone. Severus was never going to leave him alone. He was safe.

The ashen faces in the siding room lightened a little as they saw the unlikely exchange. None of them understood, but their eyes told them enough. Somehow, for reasons they couldn't comprehend, Harry trusted Severus. And right now they were holding each other together. Which was more than could be said for the aurors who had just watched the memory in the pensieve.

Several of them hadn't been able to watch the whole thing and had pulled away and a few of them had even gotten sick after watching the disturbing abuse. All of them were deeply affected by it. One thought now filled their minds, as much as they had all agreed that Harry should be punished before they now all agreed that he must be set free. Now all they had to do was convince the rest of the wizarding world.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: The feedback I got from the last chapter was overwhelming. You guys are truly amazing, I cannot thank you enough. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 16- Good News**

The wait back at Severus's house was agonizing. As the hours ticked on without news the three wizards grew more and more desperate. No one ate, they barely talked. At one point Tuck and Minerva had to physically restrain Albus from flooing into the Ministry.

Finally at 9'o clock Tuck leapt up and ran a hand over his buzzcutted hair, biting his lip in frustration. "I can't wait here anymore. I need to clear my head. When you get news I'll be at my house… or whatever's left of my house." He let out an unstable laugh. "That kid better pull through this."

"He will," Minerva said automatically but it did little to reassure the three of them.

"We'll see," Tuck responded darkly and disappeared with a pop.

Albus had been silent for a long time. He looked wearily at Minerva. "I'll go make sure he's alright." With a crack he was gone too, leaving Minerva alone in the dark living room. She let out a sigh; it was going to be a long night.

Meanwhile back at the Ministry Severus had rejoined the other aurors. Harry had fallen asleep and they had permitted Severus (and about 13 armed guards) to place him in a special holding cell that thankfully had a bed. Severus had laid Harry down gently and pulled the covers over him, trying his best to not look too attached in front of the guards.

It turned out that wouldn't be a problem because after he had stepped away every auror had come up and squeezed Harry's shoulder or whispered goodnight to him. It seemed that the memory had gotten to all of them, and they were all united in one purpose- to care for the boy.

Now the aurors talked quietly in the meeting room, everyone subdued from what they had just witnessed. Severus was exhausted but he stayed rigid with attention. This was a delicate situation; saving Harry was not going to be easy. Although having the entire Auror Department backing him up helped Severus's case immensely.

When Fudge reentered the room it went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. He was pale and his hands were shaking slightly showing the aurors what he had thought of the memory. He cleared his throat, looking like he might throw up at any moment, "We are gathered here for sad news, as you all know. It seems that Harry Potter is not the boy we thought he was. It is unclear on how the Ministry is going to react regarding Harry's future but one thing is for certain- he will never see a day in Azkaban."

Severus had never liked Fudge, or any Minister for that matter, as much as he did in that moment. A cheer rose up in the room and Severus couldn't help but join in with a small smile as relief flooded through him.

Fudge seemed a little taken aback by the enthusiasm. He cleared his throat a few times until the chatter died down again. "It is very good news, but I need you all to act with a certain confidentiality towards this. It is a very delicate situation, and it needs to be dealt with carefully."

At the confused looks at the aurors around the room (honestly it was like they had never even studied law) Madame Bones stood up and said in a commanding tone, "That means keep your mouth shut until you are asked to open it. Fudge and I need to handle the press before we run around with a "free The Boy Who Lived" campaign."

A few people laughed. Severus, on the other hand, was lost in thought planning. His Slytherin mind was drawing a blank for the first time in longer than Severus could remember. Harry was no longer going to Azkaban, and that was the best news Severus had ever heard.

But now he wanted to make sure that Harry stayed with him. And that was where the problem was. Severus was not delusional about how others saw him- he had built his façade demanding the fearful respect of others. He had never seen a problem with his closed and detached demeanor before- it kept him from being hurt, but now he needed people to see him as warm and affectionate. See him as a father.

Severus knew that was never going to happen. He had been a death eater, which wasn't something that was publicly known, but the Ministry was certainly aware of it. Even if he could manage to completely reverse the public's view of him enough to discount his past it wouldn't matter. He didn't have any more claim to the boy than anyone else and Severus had a feeling that Harry would end up going to the highest bidder. Like the Malfoys- which would put him as the perfect target for Voldemort. Harry wouldn't last a day there.

Frustrated anger rose in Severus. But the more he thought about, the more he realized that discounting the Malfoys, Harry's change in guardianship was a good thing. Severus had no idea how to be a dad, he had no idea how a family worked from his own dysfunctional one, and he had problems forming even the most basic of relationships. Of course Harry had latched onto him as the first person who hadn't abused or ignored him, but Severus was certain as soon as he met real parents he would change his mind. It was just selfish for Severus to try to hold on to the boy. Severus pushed away the ache in his heart and focused back on the room.

Fudge and Bones seemed to have finished up their conversation and were now addressing the room. "Go home everyone," Madame Bones said with a tired smile, "You all did good work today, thank you for coming in on such a short notice. Keep everything said or seen here today a secret, even from your closest relatives that you'd trust your lives with, at least until the news is known by the general public. I want you all back here tomorrow normal time. Before you go, Mr. Snape I need to speak with you."

Severus froze from his spot half way out the door. The others gave him questioning, sympathetic looks which he ignored as he pushed his way back through the crowd. He was exhausted- couldn't this wait until tomorrow? He knew that whatever Bones had to say to him it couldn't be good and he didn't think he could handle any more bad news.

He followed Bones to her office, dragging his feet. They sat across from each other and Madame Bones gave him a gauging once over. She smiled, "Would you like some tea?" She pulled out a teapot and some teacups from under her desk and cast a warming charm on the teapot.

"Tea?" Severus raised an eyebrow, not expecting that.

"It's highly caffeinated," Bones said with a smirk and poured Severus a cup without waiting for his response.

They sat and sipped their tea, which Severus had to admit was quite good considering it was reheated. After a moment Bones set her tea cup down, "You had a guest yesterday. Or nearly two days ago now," she said with a laugh looking at the clock. "Tell me about him."

It took Severus a second to follow her train of thought. "Oh, you mean John Tucker."

She smiled, "Hmmm Jonathan Tucker, never heard of him. Anyway he gave poor Auror Jacobs quite a scare, apparating in here all disheveled and looking for you, he even read her mind the poor girl."

"Errr, sorry about that," Severus said awkwardly, putting down his finished tea cup. "I'll tell him to avoid that in the future."

Bones stared at him, looking decidedly amused. "It begs the question though- how did he apparate in here without setting the wards off? And why did he want to see you so badly?"

"He is rather talented at… apparation. And it's a personal matter."

"Ohhhh, a personal matter," Bones repeated in a disturbing sing-song voice with a giant smirk on her face.

Severus realized where she was going with this, "No we're not- he's not, no," Severus spluttered, desperate to explain that him and Tucker were not ever possibly in any way together (Severus was pretty sure Tucker was like 50 anyway).

Bones just laughed, "Don't worry Sev, I don't judge."

Severus was still bright red as Bones walked out of her office still chuckling to herself (seriously? _Sev?_ ). "Go home, Severus."

Severus took her order to heart.

When Severus stepped out of the fireplace he was practically attacked by one very tired and very anxious witch. "What happened? How is Harry? Is he going to Azkaban? Where are they keeping him?"

Severus put a hand on each of her shoulders and tried to calm her down. "Minerva, he's fine, relax."

Minerva didn't relax. "What did they decide? How come it's not in the news yet?"

Severus ignored her, spelling the lights back on in his living room which she had left dark for reasons beyond him. Minerva squinted at the light, looking like a feral animal as she continued to pester Severus with questions. "Where are John and Albus?"

When Minerva didn't answer Severus let out an exasperated sigh and cast his patronus. The shock at seeing it shut Minerva up. It took Severus a second to realize what it was as the large animal stalked around the room, sniffing the floor. He lifted his eyes to reveal the proud glowing silver eyes of a wolf. Not a werewolf, but a full grown, gray wolf with a coat that gleamed and shimmered before their eyes. Minerva's mouth was literally hanging open as she studied the proud beast but Severus quickly snapped out of it. He gave his new patronus a message and sent it to Albus and Tucker.

Minerva and Severus didn't have time to discuss the patronus before Albus and Tucker appeared right in front of them with a pop, both looking as wild as Minerva had. Severus cast a silencing spell before he could be bombarded by any more questions. Minerva and Albus looked positively livid at being shut up but Tucker looked faintly amused and gave Severus an appraising look.

"Harry is fine. I interrogated him and was able to extract a memory that highlighted the… tougher parts of his childhood without involving any of us. I showed it to the Ministry and they have made the decision that he will not be charged, but the rest is up in the air. I anticipate that they will make the announcement tomorrow."

Severus canceled the silencing spell and watched the relief wash over the other's faces as the news sunk in. "How is Harry doing?" Minerva asked quietly.

Severus narrowed his eyes, "I already told you, the boy has been freed of guilt."

"No, I mean how is he mentally?" They all looked at Severus curiously.

"He is… Truthfully I don't know how he's doing," Snape admitted.

"Now we just have to figure out how to get him back with you," Tucker said thoughtfully.

Severus looked taken aback. "Why? I think the Ministry will be able to find an appropriate guardian."

" _Why?_ " all three of them asked with similar incredulous looks. "Because he cares about you and you care about him!"

Severus looked confused. "I'm not a good guardian," he said in a near- whisper. "Harry deserves better."

Albus actually started laughing. Severus stared at him, ready to hex him right out of his house. "My dear boy, you think that Harry would have it any other way? He loves you, and I don't think you see how much you have already changed each other."

Severus was honestly speechless, which didn't occur often for him. At least he had the dignity to shut his mouth as he stared at the other three members. They all just laughed; apparently it was decided for him. "We'll get Harry back, don't worry," Minerva said with a twinkle in her eye that rivaled Dumbledore's. "Now would you like to explain your patronus?"

Albus and Tucker looked at Severus expectantly, looking forward to what sounded like a good story. Severus sighed, what had ever made him invite these people into his house? "Can we at least sit first?"

They all agreed heartily and took their normal seats, with Tucker taking the spot where Harry usually sat. Once they had settled down Severus cast his patronus as explanation. The wolf ran in circles around the room, looking eagerly at the present guests. Severus canceled it and it disappeared in a cloud of silver mist.

"Ah, well I take it that is not your usual patronus," Albus said rather unhelpfully.

"My natural patronus is a fox, but it was most recently a doe," Severus responded flatly, ignoring the tinge of pain at the picture of the beautiful silver doe running through his mind.

"Are you sure that's not just a big fox?" Tucker asked, not grasping the significance of what was going on. No one even bothered to answer him.

"Well your patronus changes when you care deeply for someone," Albus started to spell out, "And the most recent person for you would be Harry."

Tucker glanced between the shared looks of shock on the adult's face. "I'm sorry but I don't quite understand."

Minerva stared at him, "Severus is copying Harry's patronus. Which means Harry's patronus is a wolf."

Tuck raised an eyebrow at her, "I got that, but so what? What's so special about a wolf?"

Minerva and Severus stared at him like he had grown two heads. Tucker was starting to get the feeling he was missing something. "He was homeschooled," Albus told them before turning to Tuck.

"Oh this is one of your Hogwarts myths isn't it?" Tucker said grinning, "You guys come up with all sorts of crazy stuff, I don't know where in the world you get it all from."

"This one isn't a myth," Albus said quietly and then sat back, taking a deep breath before launching into an explanation. "I don't know how much of Hogwarts' history you know so I'll give you a brief run through. Back before Hogwarts was even an idea in the founder's mind there was a great wizard by the name of Merlin."

"I know who Merlin is," Tucker grumbled but shut up with the sharp look from Albus (he felt like he was in school, it was an odd feeling).

"Even back in Merlin's day, the patronus of a wolf was legendary, something that only appeared about once a century. When Merlin's patronus was revealed as a wolf it became even more famous. You see, there are plenty of wizards who have become werewolves, but having the right combination of traits to be _just_ a wolf is something that doesn't happen often."

"When Merlin was very old, he became a sort of mentor for the four founders. He knew his time was almost up and he wanted to help leave a lasting legacy on the world. So he helped them build Hogwarts up and provided many of the enchantments that are still around today. He helped found the four houses and was invaluable to starting up the school."

"Many years later, Godric Gryffindor was able to convince Merlin to try on the sorting hat. It was a legendary sorting that took a full day before the hat decided Slytherin, but only because Merlin had asked him to sort him there. You see, the hat had found him unsortable, a perfect blend of all four houses."

"There has only been one boy with the Patronus of a wolf recorded since. It was about 80 years ago and even though he was born in India he was brought to Hogwarts and underwent a sorting. Again the same thing happened- the hat couldn't sort him. Sadly the boy disappeared from his home a few months later and was never found again, I'm sure he would have done great things. Since then the wolf has been known as the perfect symbol of Hogwarts, a part of all four houses."

"A wolf is as brave as a Gryffindor, as loyal as a Hufflepuff, as cunning as a Slytherin, and as intelligent as a Ravenclaw. In short, he is the perfect embodiment of Hogwarts and wizards with such animagus tend to have extraordinary power. Which only fits with what we have already seen in Harry."

Tucker sat there thoughtfully, "We can't let this get out."

"Thankfully, patronuses are not part of the Hogwart's curriculum," Minerva said.

They sat there for a minute before Severus stood, "Well it's been a nice chat, but it is one in the morning. You can all take your absences now."

Minerva smirked at Severus's forwardness and immediately bid the group farewell. Albus and Tucker tried to convince Severus to come see Tucker's new and improved house that they had managed to rebuild (from scratch) while Severus was gone. When it looked like Severus was about to murder them they finally left, giving Severus his first blissful bit of peace he'd had all day.

Before bed he quickly downed a dreamless sleep potion, not wanting to be interrupted by the certain memory that hadn't left him alone all day. Severus slept steadily through the night.

A few hundred miles away at a cell in the Ministry Harry did not sleep quite as well. His dreams were haunted by images of his old family, the horrors renewed from the memory that was now fresh in his mind. His screams haunted the guards as they stood watch through the night.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Back to Harry in this chapter! Woohoo! As always, thanks for the support and I hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 17- A Plot on the Level of Salazar Slytherin**

Severus awoke with renewed anxiety that wasn't helped by his five hours of sleep. He wanted to see Harry so badly but now that the interrogation was over Severus knew he had no valid excuse. Minerva, Tucker, and Albus needed to think of a plan to get the boy back fast, which wasn't an encouraging thought because they were a group of the two biggest Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff Severus had ever seen and Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were notoriously bad at scheming.

Severus arrived at work ten minutes early to find that nearly every other auror had taken his idea and were already there. They all seemed anxious and pressed, the joy of the news of Harry's freeing of charge having worn off. The shades were down in Madame Bone's office hiding the meeting that was still going on between Bones, Fudge, and a public relations specialist at the Ministry that hadn't stopped all night.

Hushed conversation bubbled through the otherwise silent room as everyone waited with growing impatience to hear the news of what was going to happen next. Severus, who had never been the most patient man, was about to explode by the time the door opened exactly 12 minutes later and out stepped an exhausted looking Madame Bones. "The press will be notified in five," she addressed the room. "I need to speak with Severus; the rest of you can return to your previous assignments and will be filled in on this case later."

All the people who hadn't originally been put on the Potter case sighed and dragged their feet back to their respective offices. Severus was ushered into Madame Bone's office where the other two members were waiting. The public relations specialist took over instantly, prepping them for their talk to the press (which included lots of pepper ups for everyone involved).

Bones lectured Severus on what he had to say- he was supposed to illustrate the memory for the public. He didn't have to include all the gory details, but enough to get the majority to feel sympathetic for the boy.

Before Severus could properly mentally prepare he was dragged away to the entrance of the Ministry. Fudge, Bones, and Severus stood behind the closed double door for a moment and then with a nod to each other the door was thrown open and they faced the mob of reporters. Immediately shouted questions filled the air and cameras snapped furiously as quills scribbled down everything on long flowing parchments. They stepped forward.

Minerva, Tucker, and Albus had somehow ended up back in Severus's living room. They had attempted to wait in Tucker's new kitchen but eventually watching the dragons fly around the yellow wallpaper (Tucker had remade the wallpaper because Harry had liked it) had gotten old. There was something about Severus's home- maybe that they all had so many good memories there- that made it the only place to wait in.

The mood was much lighter than the day before, with quiet banter filtering back and forth between the three members, but it was still hard to be clueless as to what was going on.

The news finally arrived at 9:15 sharp with a flurry of owls as they had all gotten memberships to multiple newspapers. Roughly put-together papers were dropped all over the floor and coins were thrown haphazardly at the owls who hooted angrily at their customers before flying away.

They all grabbed the first newspaper they could get their hands on (Tucker being momentarily confused when he picked up one that looked to be in a different language that turned out to be the Quibbler) and started reading. One story dominated the headlines: the story of the boy who lived having his charges erased. Pictures of the boy sobbing into Severus at the interrogation table and Fudge, Bones, and Severus giving their speeches were scattered through the news.

It told the three eager readers nothing they hadn't been told from Severus (except for the horrific details of the memory he had pulled free) but seeing it written out and official filled them with relief. The details of the next steps for the boy, however, were still uncertain according to the news.

Minerva, Albus, and Tucker all shared relieved smiles and then got straight to work on their plan. For a group of Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff, they believed they were quite effective at constructing a plan that even Salazar Slytherin would have been jealous of. They could hardly wait for Severus to get home so they could start the first step in Mission Take Back Harry.

Harry didn't hear any of the news locked in his cell. He had woken up at three in the morning to his own screams piercing the air and hadn't been able to fall back asleep since. Exhaustion, hunger, and the loss of magic from the day before left him so drained that all he could do was lie on his thin cot and stare up at the blank ceiling above him. Harry was scared and he was sad and he missed Severus and Albus and Tucker and Minerva but despite the inner turmoil no tears fell. He was too tired to cry.

A tray of food was pushed through his door a few hours after he awoke. Hunger gnawed in Harry's stomach but he didn't get up, keeping his gaze fixed on the ceiling. Someone came in and begged him to eat. Harry didn't even look over and the tray was taken away.

Harry missed Severus. Clearly Severus didn't feel the same way because he hadn't even bothered to come and check in on Harry. Harry's magic flared angrily at that thought, suddenly lashing out and filling the room. It found itself trapped quite quickly and after a moment of probing Harry realized that the walls around him repelled magic. No matter how hard he pushed, his magic wouldn't break the barrier.

As soon as the sudden rage faded the crushing exhaustion flooded back through Harry and he was too weak to keep his magic pushed out. It rushed back to him but there was so little of it that it didn't make Harry feel any better. Harry closed his eyes, praying for sleep to take him, but the memory instantly hijacked his thoughts and his eyes popped back open. Sleep was not an option. Better to stare at the ceiling and wait for… wait for something- Harry was too tired to care anymore.

The ceiling was a much better alternative to the Dursleys so that's where Harry's gaze remained for over an hour before the door opened and a familiar magic blew over him. Harry didn't look over as Severus entered silently. He felt dark eyes on him but Harry kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling, feeling like he was going to throw up, or maybe pass out.

Severus's gut wrenched as he saw the empty eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Harry didn't even look at him, although Severus knew that he had sensed his presence. Severus was at a loss of what to do; when Madame Bones had ordered him in here saying the boy had become unresponsive he hadn't been expecting this. He took another step towards Harry and felt his magic flare up dangerously. Severus froze, swallowing heavily.

"Look at me," he ordered. Harry didn't move, nothing in his manner suggested he had even heard Severus. "Please."

The green eyes met his and they broke Severus's heart. They were filled with so much pain, so much fear. "You need to eat something," Severus said softly. When Harry gave a small nod he summoned in the plate that he had specifically ordered containing all of Harry's favorite foods (when questioned about this knowledge he'd told the other aurors he had learned it during the interrogation when he used legilimency on the boy, which they seemed to accept despite how flimsy the reason was.)

He steadily approached Harry, ignoring the fear prickling inside him as the surrounding air trembled with power. He settled down on the bed next to Harry, who still stubbornly lay staring up at the ceiling. "Eating is an act best performed sitting up," Severus prompted gently and earned a sharp glare from Harry. At least he was responding.

Harry sat unsteadily, his hands trembling as he pushed himself up. Severus didn't comment on the way Harry favored his right hand ever so slightly, as if the pain was still there. He placed the plate in Harry's lap, watching with growing hope as Harry gave a weak smile when he got a good look at what Severus had brought him.

Severus and Harry sat in silence as Harry slowly ate his way through the plate. "It's not as good as yours," Harry whispered in between one bite and Severus smiled at the boy. To hell with the people watching, it's not like he cared much for his job anyway.

Harry quietly placed his plate on the ground and turned to face Severus. His eyes looked a little lighter but Severus noticed the nearly black circles under them. He frowned, "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Harry deflected his gaze again and shrugged non-committedly, "A couple of hours."

Severus snorted at the obvious lie, "Nightmares?"

Harry nodded and Severus sighed. He got up and for a second panic ran through Harry and his magic flared violently. Severus looked back, alarmed, until he saw the look in Harry's eyes and realized what he was thinking. "I will be back in a second, don't worry."

Harry's magic receded a little, "You promise?"

Severus nodded, "I promise," and felt the power drain out of the air around him. He stepped out and was met with the wide- eyed looks of the guards outside who had clearly been snooping. "You, go get a dreamless sleep potion," he snapped at the one who looked the most surprised.

The poor guard sputtered, looking like he had tasted something sour. He seemed to snap out of it as he rapidly spun around and took off down the hallway, running as if his very life depended on getting that potion. Severus rolled his eyes and turned to the other guards with one eyebrow raised that dared them to say anything about what they had just seen. They all had enough self-preservation to stay quiet.

Severus brought the potion back into the cell, watching as Harry deflated in relief when he saw him. Severus went to sit beside him again and handed him the pale orange potion. "This will put you to sleep for a few hours and prevent you from having dreams." Severus almost added "just like the one I give you at home" but his tired brain stopped him just in time.

Harry held it in his hand for a moment, staring at it with an expression Severus couldn't read. "What is it Harry?"

The emerald eyes looked years younger as they met Severus and a quiet question slipped out of Harry's lips, "Will you be here when I wake up?"

Severus could barely answer Harry, who was looking at him with a look of entirely unguarded hope in his eyes. He was too young for this, too innocent. "I'll do my best," Severus lied through his teeth, looking away so he didn't have to see the crushing disappointment on Harry's face. A thought occurred to him, "Harry, will you look at me for a second?"

Harry made eye contact and Severus silently slid into his mind. _I promise you Harry, I will get you out of here, as soon as I can no matter what it takes you will come back home._

Harry's heart ached at the word "home." Him and Mr. Snape's home. It already felt more like a home then number 4 Privet Drive ever had, but Harry knew he could never go back there. _I can't go back there, it's not safe._

 _What's not safe?_ Severus sounded confused. _I assure you Harry; I will protect you from any danger._

Harry shook his head slightly. _It's not safe for you. I can't- I can't control my magic. It's only a matter of time before it flares up and…_ Harry trailed up as the images of the torn bodies staring lifelessly up at him filled his mind. _You'll only end up like my relatives, or the aurors, or Mr. Tuck._

 __Severus was even more confused. _What happened to Mr. Tuck? Rebuilding his house took no time at all, he is perfectly fine now._

Now Harry was the one that was confused. _He's not dead?_

 _Of course not you silly child! He's a full grown wizard; he was able to easily escape your burst of accidental magic. Tucker didn't even get a scratch from it._

It was only one person, one victim that had been spared but somehow it filled Harry with hope. He hadn't killed his teacher, the kind and brave man who had become more of a friend than a mentor over time. He felt tears filling his eyes, this time tears of pure relief and happiness. Then his thoughts turned more serious. _Still, I am dangerous. I can't control my anger, I've tried so hard and I can't._

 _Harry I promise you, no matter how bad it gets or how hard it becomes for you to control your emotions you will get through it. We will get through it, because I am not leaving you, no matter what. The sooner you get that through your dunderhead brain, the better, because as I said before I will not hesitate to magically attach you to my side until you learn how a family is truly supposed to act._

Severus's thoughts were full of adamant sincerity and another emotion that was unfamiliar to Harry- could this be love? If it was, Harry decided that he never wanted to lose it because it filled him with a feeling of warmth and safety that made him feel like he belonged for once in his life. He wasn't just a freak that no one cared about; he was a cherished boy who had made his own family who loved him just as much as any real one.

Harry forgot all about his cover story. He threw his arms around Severus and hugged him tightly, burying his face into his black robes. Through choked sobs he inhaled the scent that he had grown to accustom with a feeling of safety and home. The mixture of mint and various odd smelling ingredients from the lab that was just totally Mr. Snape.

Severus didn't exactly forget about his cover, he just decided that he didn't care as he pulled the raven haired boy close to him, feeling his robes being soaked in tears yet again but not caring. He rubbed circles on Harry's back until gradually, Harry's hiccupping sobs slowly started to fade and the boy quieted before him. He felt the rise and fall of Harry's chest even out as he sunk into sleep.

Finally, once Severus was certain his movements wouldn't wake the sleeping child; he gently laid him down on the bed, smoothing his unruly hair from his now peaceful face. He drew the covers up and tucked them around the boy. Transferring the sleeping potion straight into his stomach with a quick wave of his wand he whispered, "Good night Harry," and pressed his lips against Harry's forehead lightly.

Severus straightened up and let out a deep sigh. He walked out of the room and straight past the astonished guards, not stopping until he reached the Auror Department. In the meeting office Madame Bones was addressing the other aurors, most likely filling them in on the press conference that morning. Severus felt no need to be filled in on what he had lived through so he just kept walking to his office, collapsing into his desk chair. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a little while he would be able to focus better…

Severus awoke disoriented and greatly disgruntled a few hours later to the feel of someone watching him. He jerked awake, his neck snapping painfully as his head shot up to see an amused Madame Bones watching him. "What time is it?" Severus mumbled, honestly past the point of being embarrassed in front of her (she had already caught him off guard too many times; it was too late to save his reputation).

"3'o clock. You've been asleep for three hours," Bones told him with an odd fondness in her voice.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Severus grumbled, suddenly feeling much more awake. He had so much he needed to do and so little time to do it before Harry was taken away for good.

"It looked like you needed the sleep, and besides after what you did for Harry you deserved a nap."

Severus froze. "What I did for Harry?" he repeated, reluctant to add any more to the question as to not incriminate himself.

"I was told by the guards that you were quite sweet with the boy. I had no idea that you were good with kids; you are just full of surprises Severus. Maybe your good friend Jonathan Tucker helped teach you?" Bones gave him a mischievous smile that made him wish she had never woken him up.

"There. Is. Nothing. Between. Me. And. That. Blithering. Idiot." Severus snarled, shooting the dirtiest look he could manage at Bones who just chuckled again. Severus was tempted to obliviate all the memories she had of him since they had met to regain the wary dislike of him she'd began with, but he decided that obliviating the head of the Auror Department would probably be frowned upon. And it would certainly not help his case with Harry, which snapped Severus back into action.

"Am I needed for anything else today?" he asked, forgetting to make his tone rude.

Bones narrowed his eyes, "I suppose not, why?"

"I have some personal matters to attend to that are better to be dealt with sooner rather than later."

Severus should have known the reason behind Bone's wicked grin. "Do these personal matters have anything to do with say, the one and only Jonathan Tucker?" She sang the last part gleefully, enjoying every bit of torture she was inflicting on Severus. The sadistic maniac.

"If you mention that one more time…" Severus trailed off remembering he was talking to his boss here who was known for rapid mood swings, especially in the middle of a stressful and sleep- depriving case. Instead he just glared at Bones to silently let her know exactly how painful it would be for her.

Madame Bones grinned. "Get out of here." She waited until Severus was halfway out of the office before shouting, "And tell your new boyfriend I said hi!"

Severus's face looked like he had been hexed with a color changing spell it turned so red as he walked past the aurors who had turned to stare at him with the loud outburst. Severus managed to mutter something that sounded like "Goodnight," before disappearing into the lift.

Severus wasn't exactly expecting to have guests in his living room when he returned so when he exited the fireplace and registered three figures sitting there he acted quickly. A small duel ensued between the confused guests before Tucker realized who had arrived and threw an invisible force field impermeable to magic between the wizards.

The spells bounced off and exploded various things in Severus's living room. Tucker removed the barrier when he saw Severus's eyes focus into a dark glare that he shot at the three of them. "Do you three not have anything better to do with your time than wait in my living room?" Severus snarled in an annoyed tone and then went to sit in his armchair.

When the room stayed silent for a few seconds Severus narrowed his eyes, "I assume you are here for a reason?"

"Ah yes!" Dumbledore exclaimed, the twinkling rushing back into his eyes. The others suddenly looked just as enthusiastic which made Snape a little nervous. "We have constructed a plan to get Harry back to you," Albus said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"A rather brilliant plan," Minerva added.

"Sure to work," inputted Tucker as they all stared at Severus excitedly.

"Well?" Severus inquired, doubting that their plan was of any use. He had devised his own plan anyway, one that wasn't exactly foolproof but would likely get the job done.

They all started talking at once and trailed off, laughing at each other. Severus was ready to throw them out of his house and move to a different country when they finally decided on Tucker as a spokesperson (as the plan had been mostly his idea- maybe he had some Slytherin in him yet).

"First I am going to apparate into the ministry and kidnap Harry." Severus nearly stopped the plan there but wanted to add to his proof the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuff truly were dunderheads.

"Then I will keep him hidden at my house for a week, letting the press go wild. Then you will sweep in and save the day and be stuck in a nine day siege in my house where I will keep all other aurors out and you will blow up things to make it appear as if it was quite a duel."

"Throughout this time, you will protect Harry and form a bond that is unmistakable to the public when you finally subdue me and triumphantly strut out of the house as the savoir of the boy who lived. I will be put into a holding cell which I will promptly escape from and return to one of my safe houses where the Ministry will never be able to find me. Your story will be broadcasted through the news and Harry will act so adorably attached to you that people will be begging for you to gain guardianship of him. And we'll all live happily ever after."

Severus half expected for his three companions to burst out laughing and admit that the whole plan had been a joke. When they didn't he took a deep breath, calming himself. "How long did this plan take you to construct?"

Albus and Tucker looked suddenly unsure of their ingenious plot and Minerva just rolled her eyes and hissed at them, "I told you it was a terrible plan."

"It took us over three hours," Dumbledore admitted sheepishly, "But that was only because _someone_ kept disapproving of every step we invented." He shot a look at Minerva.

"Trust me Severus, that plan was a huge improvement to some of their earlier ones, which included using glamours to convince people you were James come back from the dead," Minerva told Severus, returning the look Albus had given her.

Severus sighed, bloody Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. "Well, as entertaining as that plan was, I think my plan is a tad bit more practical. All we have to do is get a court hearing on the placement of Harry. I will testify as an expert witness on the abuse he suffered and innocently suggest that perhaps the boy should be asked where he wishes to go. I also may bring up my own past experiences with abuse to let the jury know that I know ways to overcome it. If that doesn't work, then I'll admit the entire truth and call Tucker in as a witness because he apparently doesn't care if he becomes wanted for kidnapping so a mere harboring a fugitive charge shouldn't bother him."

Minerva nodded, "That sounds like our best option."

Albus grumbled, "That's not a very fun way of doing things," but ultimately agreed.

Tucker refused to speak to Severus because he had, as Tucker put it, threatened to get him arrested but told Minerva and Albus that he thought it was a good plan.

So it was decided. They ate a slopped together dinner at Severus's place and discussed the finer details of the plan. They found no reason to wait so it was decided that Severus would suggest the hearing the following day.

Once again, as they all settled into bed that night they felt doubt gnawing in their hearts. Each of them agreed to themselves that they would do whatever it takes to get Harry back. After all, their makeshift family wasn't complete without the beloved boy who had brought it together.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Your reviews, follows, and favorites are my life. Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 18- The Trial**

The trial was put together in record time. It took the ministry two days from the time Severus had suggested it to make the necessary preparations.

It was only an hour before it was scheduled to begin and Severus sat on the bed of a nervous Harry. The boy was wired and tense but still a great deal better than he had been the day he'd turned himself in. Severus noted with satisfaction that the heavy bags under his eyes had faded to pale dark lines. The dreamless sleep potions had worked like a charm.

"You're going to be fine Harry, just answer each question as honestly as you can. I will be there the whole time as will a ministry appointed spokesperson trained to help children going through tough trials," Severus reassured Harry yet again. They had already gone over the plan (with their new found telepathy of sorts) multiple times so now it was up to the jury to make the right decision. Or what Severus hoped was the right decision, even now he had doubts that he was the right person to adopt any child, much less one that had as many deep- set problems as Harry.

Harry nodded, numbly staring at his lap as he felt anxiety and dread for the coming ordeal start to overwhelm him. Mr. Snape will be there, he reminded himself _. As long as he is there I will be safe._

This sense of safety only lasted for a matter of moments before an agent entered the cell and informed Severus it was time for him to report to the courtroom. Harry felt the repressed panic flare up in him all at once and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out when Severus stood. His dark eyes met Harry's emerald ones and tried to reassure him to no avail.

Severus had to force himself out of the room as Harry's breathing sped up at the sight of his guardian leaving. His fear was different from the dull, draining fear that had overtaken him a few days before but it was just as powerful. Harry leapt to his feet and started pacing, muttering under his breath in a desperate attempt to calm himself down as memories flashed through his mind. "Mr. Snape will be there. Mr. Snape will keep you safe. You will be fine," he repeated to himself. "Nothing will happen while Mr. Snape is there."

The court room was already full when Severus arrived. Reporters craned their necks at the sound of the doors opening and quickly started flashing pictures of him. Severus ignored the questions that were directed his way, instead letting his eyes scan the crowd. His spirits rose as he saw no wizards with any serious affiliations to the Dark Lord, it seemed that the boy wouldn't be fought over by the darkness as much as he thought. He supposed that meant Voldemort had other plans for taking Harry, but he would worry about that when the time came.

While there were no death eaters sitting in the stands, Severus did see a few people he wasn't expecting to make an attendance. The most prominent example was Jonathan Tucker, who sat stiffly in the front row looking very uncomfortable in his plain black robes that were several inches too long- Severus was guessing he had borrowed them from Albus last minute.

Tucker gave Severus a bright smile when he saw him walking up to the front of room which Severus returned with a glare. Severus focused his attention back onto the jury but he could have sworn he heard Tucker chuckle quietly behind him. Bastard never took his glares seriously.

It was with the jury that Severus found that most problems. Which lay mostly in a short, toad-faced woman in obnoxiously pink robes that humphed expectantly when Severus approached the table. He ignored her, instead addressing the head of the court, a stern looking wizard named William Smith. "My name is Auror Severus Snape; I am here to act as a primary testifier."

The wizard didn't even bother checking his papers. In a dry voice he said, "You may join the other testifiers in the box." His gaze diverted quickly to a small bench in the corner of the room which already held a few aurors and a woman dressed like a muggle who Severus didn't recognize. Severus sat down next to his coworkers, answering all questions directed his way in monosyllables until the other aurors got the point and left him to his own devices. Severus watched the rapidly filling room with a wary eye and growing apprehension.

Five minutes before the hearing was set to begin Severus was jostled out of his thoughts by the sound of commotion at the door. He looked up to see Harry being lead in surrounded by guards who blocked the view of the reporters who snapped as many photos as possible anyway. Severus's jaw tensed in anger when he saw the familiar restraints on Harry; he would have thought that the Ministry wouldn't be so foolish as to use a device considered as torture to most in the trial of the most beloved boy in their world. Then again, most people wouldn't be able to distinguish those handcuffs from any other, but he could tell from the angry whispers around him that his coworkers had noticed it.

Severus could barely see Harry through the flock of swirling black cloaks surrounding him but he didn't need to see his face to know Harry was afraid. His body language was practically emanating nervous energy and his head kept jerking back and forth to take in the sudden noise and energy of the crowd around him. He seemed overwhelmed.

It took the whole five minutes to get Harry settled in front of the jury, the aurors wisely deciding against binding him to the chair which would have surely caused a riot. The crowd quieted instantly when William lifted his hand, his powerful demeanor silencing even reporters like Reeta Skeeter. He started instantly, his baritone voice rumbling over the multitude of wizards who strained to hear every word.

"We are gathered here today to decide the guardianship of Harry James Potter, son of James Potter, deceased and Lily Potter, deceased. At the conclusion of the hearing the jurors will be charged with the duty of making the ultimate decision on the placement of Mr. Potter and have already sworn to make this decision based on the best interest for Mr. Potter and the whole of the wizarding world. The jury first calls up Auror Severus Tobias Snape as an expert witness on what Mr. Potter experienced in his previous home with his Uncle Vernon Dursley, his Aunt Petunia Dursley, and his cousin Dudley Dursley."

Severus walked smoothly up to the stand, slipping the mask into place. He faced the jury with a calm and measured look. "As this is just a hearing and no charges are being placed, I will direct the questions at Auror Snape," William said, coolly meeting Snape's sharp gaze.

"Now Mr. Snape, to the best of your ability can you recount what occurred on March 11th at the Ministry?"

"At approximately 1:00 in the afternoon the wards measuring underage magic, both accidental and purposeful, went off with a reading of strong magic performed at the home of Mr. Potter's current guardians, the Dursleys, on Number 4 Privet Drive. Auror Shacklebolt, Auror Moody, Auror Rodgers, Auror Greenfield, and I responded to the alarm arriving at the Dursley's home at 1:02. There we found the house burning down with the left roof having already caved and the rest of the house being destroyed rapidly by the flames that were magic in origin"

"We found a young boy who we identified as Harry Potter standing in the front yard staring at the house. He was unresponsive to every question asked. We heard the Muggle Authorities approaching so we aparrated Mr. Potter back to the Ministry. Meanwhile Auror Shacklebolt stayed behind under a concealing charm from the muggles and ran a few tests on where the source of the blast came from."

"At 11:13 he apparated back to the ministry and informed us that the magic had been performed by Mr. Potter but due to the rapid degradation of the crime scene it was impossible to tell whether the explosion had been accidental or not."

Severus proceeded to tell the story of what had occurred when he'd attempted to read Harry's mind. His mouth seemed to move on autopilot; Severus wasn't even sure what he was saying as he watched Harry break down out of the corner of his eyes. The witch who had been appointed to him, a young woman who had a kind smile, was desperately trying to calm him down. Most of the crowd was distracted by the display before them as the witch knelt beside Harry and talked softly and slowly to Harry who was close to hyperventilating.

Severus was snapped back to his task at hand when William asked his next question, "When was the next time you saw Mr. Potter?"

"I was called into the Ministry on April 15th at 2:04 pm; approximately an hour after Mr. Potter had turned himself in. I was asked to use my skills in Legilimency to try to determine the cause for the incidents on May 11th. At 2:17 I began my interrogation. While performing Legilimency a memory was disclosed from Mr. Potter's mind illustrating the abuse he had faced at the Dursleys home."

William cut him off there, "This memory has been given to the court as evidence. Please be aware that the memory you are about to view has been edited to remove material deemed inappropriate for the general public, but it still may be disturbing to some viewers. If any member of the jury or audience wishes to not view the video they may leave now." William paused and looked around. When no one moved he cleared his throat. "Very well. If you direct your attention to the wall behind me the memory will be presented shortly."

The lights in the room dimmed and soon the crystal clear video started projecting. Severus felt nostalgia to the days he had spent at the Muggle cinema with his mother- one of the few bright memories from his childhood because his father rarely joined them- but the feeling was quickly erased as the scene unfolded before him.

Severus had thought the images had already been seared permanently into his mind but watching them again knowing with a helpless dread what was going to happen next was infinitely worse. He turned away, feeling his stomach lurch and he caught movement out of his peripheral vision.

Harry, who had before been staring at the screen in frozen terror, had started to struggle against his restraints. "No, please no," he muttered, his glazed eyes far away. "No, no, no," his voice rose into high pitched hysteria.

The crowd broke into murmurs as they watched the Ministry official's attempts at reassurances not make it through to Harry. Severus doubted that Harry even heard them; he was trapped in memories of the past. With a frantic wave from William the projection was cut off but it was already too late.

Severus didn't have time to think as he found himself on his feet and walking, no running, to the boy. Chaos had broken through the room; everyone was standing and craning their necks to get a good look at the boy who lived. As soon as Severus reached Harry a few things happened all at once.

Severus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and the emerald eyes popped open to look up in unguarded fear and pain just as the main doors slammed open and everyone turned to look as a familiar flash of white blonde hair strode confidently into the room with his wife at his side. Cameras flashed furiously and Severus looked up to come face to face with the cold grey eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

Malfoy had his head lifted high as he deliberately paced his way up to the judge's stand, waiting for the room to fall into dead silence before he began. "I am Lucius Orion Malfoy and this is my wife Narcissa Druella Black- Malfoy. We have come on account of these." Lucius placed a small, neat bundle of parchment onto Judge William's stand.

William visibly shook himself, peering over at Harry to make sure everything was under control for the moment, then opened the scroll. Severus watched his face morph into one of surprise as his eyes sped over the lines. He looked up at Lucius and Narcissa in shock and then back at the paper, skimming over the parchment again as if he couldn't believe what he had read.

Severus could feel Harry tense under his hand. He could sense Severus's sudden change in mood and although he did not understand the reason for it he did know that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

The Judge cleared his throat once, then twice, seeming to fail to find words. "It seems that the proper guardians of Mr. Potter have been found." The room fell into silence as everyone stared at William not trusting what they had just heard. "The Great and Noble Line of Malfoys share a blood link with the Potters. Mr. Potter will be placed in the home of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy as his closest blood relatives. This hearing is adjourned."

William banged his mallet twice, officially ending the debate on Harry's placement. The bangs resonated through the room as it erupted into sound. The press frantically pushed their way towards the Malfoys shouting questions at them from across the hall that all jumbled into one as wizards talked loudly over the noise.

Severus found he couldn't move as his hand tightened to an almost painful grip on Harry's shoulder. His ears were filled with a hollow ringing but he could still make out the panicked question from the boy. "What does that mean? Mr. Snape what is going to happen to me?" The tone of voice made it clear Harry knew exactly what was happening but he couldn't bear to believe it. Neither could Severus.

It felt like a dream as Severus watched Lucius walk slowly over to him, giving him a calm nod because he didn't know. He didn't know that Severus's world was slowly falling apart. It didn't feel real, Severus felt like a spectator watching in on an alternate life, an alternate universe in which he could take no part in because he couldn't possibly be expected live through this after all he had gone through just to have his child ripped from his grasp.

Numbness washed over Severus as he stepped away, his hand pulling away from Harry's shoulder and falling limply at his side. Harry's eyes were brimming with tears but he said nothing as an auror unlocked his restraints, letting them fall to the ground.

Harry stood shakily, his magic swirling joyously around him as it was set free but Harry felt none of it as he stared at his guardian, the one who had promised to keep him safe, who was just standing there and doing nothing. A hand fell heavily onto his shoulder, a hand that felt nothing like Severus's and made Harry's stomach twist. He looked up to see the brown haired woman staring back with a smile on her face. But the smile wasn't real; Harry could see right through it and could see the hatred and disgust just behind the barrier. It was the look Aunt Petunia had often given him in public, an eerie smile that promised pain later.

Harry felt every instinct scream inside him for him to run but another hand fell onto his shoulder, holding him tightly and he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. He was frozen, stuck in a horrible nightmare as Lucius and Narcissa forced him forwards and away from the only family he had. Lights flashed in front of him and questions were thrown towards him but Harry took in none of it.

A cold resignation had filled him because he knew, knew by the way Lucius and Narcissa looked at him, that the Malfoys would be no better than the Dursleys. He knew his brief month of safety had been too good to last; freaks like him didn't deserve to be loved or cared for him. Freaks like him needed to be beaten until they were so weak that they posed no harm to the people around them. Harry didn't know how he could have forgotten this. The heavy doors closed behind him and all too soon Harry was being guided into a large fireplace. With a flash of green flames he was gone.

The sight of the doors closing definitively behind Harry woke Severus from his living nightmare. He started to sprint towards the door, pushing people roughly out of the way as his feet skidded across the tiled floor. In the back of his mind he heard someone frantically calling his name but it was drowned out by the pounding in his ears. When he was only a few feet away from the door, a few feet away from saving Harry, he felt arms closing around him and before he could react there was the familiar feeling of being pushed through a straw.

As soon as he felt his feet on solid ground Severus threw his elbow back at his capturer and shook himself free with a roar. A blast of accidental magic was rapidly blocked by his opponent as blinded by rage Severus whipped out his wand and started to rapidly fire dark curses at him.

He heard the alarmed shouts of Albus and Minerva behind him as his blurry mind started to fill in the missing pieces of his surroundings. They were standing in his living room which was being ripped apart by the vicious attacks from Severus. Tucker had every intention of sticking to defensive spells but the thought of Harry being gone for good snapped something inside him and soon he was returning the attacks with an enraged ferocity that caused the room to tremble with every spell he cast.

Minerva and Albus stood back against the wall with their wands in hands as they watched the display with sickening dread filling them. They didn't even bother to pull the two apart because they knew something had gone terribly wrong and they didn't even want to hear what it was.

Severus and Tucker were pretty evenly matched duelers- the only difference was that Severus had completely lost it while Tucker's anger drained quickly and it wasn't long before his brain caught up to what he was doing. He immediately stopped his attack, barely dodging a crucio as he got over his momentary shock at his own actions. This was Severus, his friend and the one who had saved Harry in more ways than one and Tucker would not fight him.

With his mind no longer blinded by raw overpowering emotion Tucker could think much more clearly and it wasn't long before Severus's wand flew out of his wand with a well-placed expelliarmus. Tucker was prepared for anything as the room suddenly went dead still. Severus and Tucker stood staring at each other, both panting heavily. Severus let his arm that was still raised from his last casting fall to his side and his head hung. "They're going to kill him," he whispered, the words knives driven deeply into the hearts of everyone in the room.

"Who?" Albus asked softly as Tucker slowly lowered his wand, slumping in defeat.

"The Malfoys," Severus spat. "Their bloodlines cross with the Potters, just like every other damn pure-blood family in our world. They'll have no problem handing the boy right over to Voldemort. He's as good as dead now." Severus let out a bitter, hollow laugh that was filled with pain. "And I just let him walk right out."

Albus sat heavily on the couch. "There's nothing you could have done in front of the entire ministry," he said gravely. The room fell into shocked silence.

"I could have at least tried," Severus roared suddenly, turning violently and driving his fist into the wall. His hand went right through the plaster. "I promised him- I promised him I'd keep him safe, Albus. What am I going to tell the wizarding world when the next war starts and this time Voldemort succeeds because the only wizard who had a chance of saving us is already dead? What am I going to tell them happened to their bloody chosen one?"

"Oh shut up with your self-pity." Everyone turned in shock to Minerva who hadn't even spoken since she'd heard the news. She stood up, looking pale but determined. "If you weren't so busy hexing Tucker and punching walls then you would have had time to use your Slytherin mind to actually think of a plan to save Harry. Lucky for you I managed to keep from having a temper tantrum and made a plan."

"You are going to go to Malfoy Manor and see if you can get Harry back using your connections and relationship with Lucius. If that doesn't work you are sending out your patronus and we are blasting our way in there and taking Harry back by force." The fierce look in Minerva's eyes cut off any ideas for modifying her plan. Without a word Severus grabbed his wand from Tucker, rushed to his fireplace, and disappeared in a flash of green.

Severus strode confidently into Lucius' office, his face completely composed. The man looked up calmly from his desk, "Greetings Severus." He sneered. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Severus had a fair amount of trouble restraining himself from knocking out the smug bastard and retaking the boy right there. Insctead he forced a gracious smile onto his face. "Hello Lucius."

He sat uninvited in the Severus-suspected-purposefully-uncomfortable wooden chair facing Lucius' desk. "I am here to discuss the Potter boy."

Lucius grinned darkly, "I thought my method was quite ingenious, me finding a blood relation so we could take Potter. Everyone will forget our involvement in the first war if we so selflessly take in the _poor,_ abused orphaned boy. I'm afraid I have no choice but to provide the best for the half-blood if only to keep up appearances." Lucius looked disgusted by the thought.

Severus narrowed his eyes, "Don't play games with me Lucius, I know the Dark Lord is behind this."

With a flick of his wand Lucius slammed the office door shut. He leapt to his feet and swept around the room casting various silencing spells before returning back to his seat, his already light colored skin going even paler. "Don't speak that name in my house," he hissed angrily, his eyes flaring. "That life is behind me now, he is gone."

Severus snorted disbelievingly. "I guess you're more of a delusional fool then I thought." He pulled up his sleeve revealing the pulsating, deep black mark. "Does this look like he's gone to you?"

Malfoy went rigid in his chair, his eyes locking on the double serpents twisted around the grotesquely deformed skull. "How can this be possible?" he whispered. He leapt up again and started pacing the room, running a hand through his shoulder length hair.

"I'm surprised you didn't feel it when he returned. Perhaps it was during one of your parties where the firewhiskey was flowing all night?" Severus bit back dryly as he watched the man walk back and forth like a caged animal.

"You don't understand," Lucius cried suddenly and reached the desk in a giant step. He thrust his arm in front of Severus, violently yanking the perfectly tailored sleeve back to reveal his forearm. Severus blinked, unable to believe what his eyes were taking in. There was the mark twisting down the length of his arm but it was faded and light and more importantly there was no feeling to it. According to Lucius's mark, the Dark Lord was still gone.

Severus took a deep breath, pushing down the shocked panic growing inside of him as he stood up and retrieved a large bottle of expensive looking firewhiskey from a side table. Lucius wordlessly pulled out two large glasses. This was going to be a long night.

Once they had both drained one whole glass of the strong liquid that burned all the way down and had refilled their glasses with a generous second helpings Severus began, "Have you had contact with any of the others?"

Lucius nodded, "Their marks are like mine, there are no other signs that he has returned."

"Even the Lestranges?" Severus would have thought that out of everyone Bellatrix would have regained her mark first as one of the Dark Lord's most faithful companions.

"I have not seen my dear cousin in a while, but her and Narcissa have been corresponding and she mentioned nothing of the sort."

Severus growled- why had him, of all people, been signaled of Voldemort's return? Unless, a chilling thought hit him it was a warning of what was to come, an end to his punishment for being a traitor. _I would be long dead by now_ _if he had the ability to get to me_ Severus told himself but it wasn't very reassuring.

"Why would he choose me?" Severus finally asked, having exhausted all the possibilities in his head.

Lucius smiled grimly, "Guess you just got lucky."

Severus took another giant swig of his whiskey, nearly choking on the overwhelming taste and the burn. He got back to why he was there. "So you're saying you only took the boy to regain political power?"

Lucius seemed very glad for the shift in conversation. "Yes, are you jealous you didn't think of it first?" he asked, back to his usual egotistical self.

Severus pretended to think for a moment. "I can't say I'm jealous of the fact you got another snot-nosed menace to take care of. And considering his father he's sure to be an arrogant fool. Where is he anyway?"

"I slipped him a couple of sleeping potions," Lucius said, sounding very proud of his parenting skills, "He's passed out in the guest bedroom. Annoying twit kept screaming that he wanted to go home. Narcissa couldn't even get him to calm down." Severus couldn't help but noticing that the "annoying twit," was said with a hint of fondness, looked like Harry had managed to wriggle his way into yet another person's heart.

"May I see him? I have been speaking with Dumbledore and he suggested that the scar for Potter might act like the dark mark for Death Eaters."

Lucius snorted derisively, "You still trust the word of that old coot? He lost his touch long ago, now he's just a mad man grasping onto straws."

"A mad man with power," Severus added mildly.

"Not for long if Fudge has anything to say about it. I suggest you find yourself some better allies."

Severus ignored the suggestion, "Well may I see the boy?"

"Knock yourself out," Lucius stood, "The potions should be wearing off soon anyway."

They walked through the large manor until they reached the relatively small but grandly furnished guest room. Lucius pushed the door open carefully. Severus peered in from behind him to see the small form of Harry tossing and turning in the sheets despite the numerous potions.

Lucius turned on the lights with the flick of his wand and a soft white glow was cast over the room. The boy twisted violently away from the light but did not wake. In the illumination Severus could see his face screwed up in pain with sweat collecting on his brow. Whatever dream he was trapped in right now, it was not a pleasant one.

Severus let Lucius quietly pad towards the boy. He pulled out his wand but didn't say anything as Lucius reached for Harry's shoulder to wake him. As soon as his hand made contact with Harry an earsplitting scream of agony filled the room. Severus raced to the scene and it took him a moment to discover that it was not Harry making the tortured noise, but Lucius. He had fallen to his knees and had his left forearm grasped tightly in his right, his face twisted from the intense pain.

Severus didn't have time to attend to Lucius as he suddenly felt the room drop 10 degrees in temperature as the sickening feeling of Harry's magic rushed over him. This was not the nice, calm and controlled magic of Harry's good moods or even the burning, uncontrollable magic of Harry's rage. No this was the cold, controlled, hateful magic that had one purpose- to destroy.

"Harry," Severus shouted, running to Harry's side and throwing up a quick shield before placing a hand on his shoulder. The blast of magic shattered his shield in a matter of seconds and it took a quickly casted spell to destroy the rest of the attack. He didn't remove his hand from Harry's shoulder even as he felt the magic roil malevolently right beneath him. "Harry, wake up."

Harry muttered something under his breath, to Severus it sounded almost like a hiss. "Harry please," Severus begged, feeling the magic in the room build and knowing he did not have time to escape from the attack and did not have enough power to stop it. "I love you."

Time seemed to freeze as the magic in the room remained in a precariously balanced equilibrium. Severus hardly dared to move, hardly dared to breathe in case he broke the dead silence that had fallen over everything. Then with a whoosh the magic flowed rapidly away. In no more than 5 seconds the power had drained back into its slumbering owner and the temperature had returned to normal. Harry's eyes opened bleakly, looking around the room with scared confusion until his eyes focused on Severus and he relaxed back into the bed. "Dad?" he muttered in an exhausted slur.

"Go back to bed, Harry," Severus coaxed. Harry nodded, his head barely rising off the pillow as it seemed he was still half asleep.

"Love you too, Dad," Harry slurred before sleep pulled him back to unconsciousness. Severus squeezed his shoulder lightly then sighing deeply turned back to Lucius who was still kneeling on the ground, staring with a blank face at his arm.

Severus knelt beside him and pulled back the sleeve slowly, only revealing the tip of the ink that was now black as night. He pulled the sleeve back, covering all signs of the mark. "Where's Narcissa?"

Lucius eyes were empty as he continued to stare at the sleeve that was concealing his darkest secret. "Lucius, where are Narcissa and Draco?"

Lucius finally looked up at Severus. "I can't keep him, Severus. I can't keep the boy, he's going to bring us back, he's going to drag us back into that life." Lucius was trembling violently and his voice rose into hysteria. "I can't lose Draco, please Severus help us."

Severus nodded solemnly, "Go find your family Lucius. Tell them that the Death Eaters came, tell them you fought bravely but then the Dark Lord appeared and robbed the child from your hands. Tell them that Voldemort killed him; tell the world that Harry Potter is dead. I will take care of the rest."

"Thank you, Severus, thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?" Lucius cried out in relief. "You've saved all of us."

"Go find your family," Severus answered calmly. "As long as you never tell anyone what happened today then I will consider that as payment enough."

Lucius pushed himself onto his feet. "I will never forget this, I am forever indebted to you," he told him, with a crazed but sincere expression. With that, Lucius left to go reunite with his family who had flooed away as practiced as soon as they'd heard yells.

From that day on Harry Potter was erased from history. As far as the wizarding world was concerned on April 21st at 1:06 am their hero was lost to their greatest enemy who had returned from the dead.

On the same day the greatest failure occurred for the wizarding world the greatest success for Severus Snape occurred. That day, with the help of Dumbledore and a few obliviation charms, Benjamin Severus Snape entered the world.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: Alright chill readers I realize I've made a horrible mistake, Benjamin James Snape is now Benjamin Severus Snape (name credit to Crapounette from the reviews). And I do agree the Lucius' decision in the last chapter was a little OC but one he was scared and not thinking straight and two at the very end of the books he chose to walk away from Voldemort to protect his family, so maybe in this story he just learned his lesson faster. Anyway, thanks again to all you wonderful readers for reviewing, following, and favoriting and I hope you enjoy!

 **Chapter 19- A New Life**

Harry slept through the preparations so when he awoke late on April 21st he was not aware that he woke up as a new person. In fact, Harry was not aware of many of the happenings of the night before. He had faint, blurred bits of memory- he remembered going with the Malfoy's after the trial, he remembered his scar burning and someone screaming, and then he remembered Mr. Snape at his side.

Harry blushed slightly- had he really called Mr. Snape "dad"? And more importantly had Mr. Snape really said he loved Harry? The thought filled Harry with warmth that pushed away any embarrassment. He looked around the room lit up with morning light with a smile. Nothing had changed since the day he'd run away. Harry felt his stomach rumble just as the scent of something delicious cooking hit his nose. Harry sniffed and smiled even more brightly- it was pancakes, Harry's favorite.

 _Looks like Mr. Snape had kept his promise_ Harry thought to himself as he pushed himself out of bed. He was safe. Relief flooded through Harry lifting the weight from the past few weeks. The Ministry indicting him didn't change the fact that he had killed, but it did tell him that they shared Mr. Snape's opinion- that the murders weren't his fault. It didn't fix everything but it was a start.

Harry walked into the living room to find Minerva, Albus, and Tucker sitting in their chairs chatting amiably. He rushed over and practically tackled Tucker into a hug, "I'm so sorry about your house Mr. Tuck," Harry gushed out squeezing him so tightly that Tucker had a little trouble breathing.

Tuck patted Harry's head, "That's alright Kiddo. Me and Professor Dumbledore fixed it up, good as new."

Harry beamed gratefully and then rushed over to greet Minerva and Albus with just as strong hugs. "I'm so glad you're back my dear boy," Albus told him.

Unsurprisingly, Professor McGonagall hugged him back then turned a strict look on him, "It's good to see you, but if you ever try to run away again I will charm you so that you can't move more than a foot from my side."

Harry just smiled, "That's what Mr. Snape said."

Speaking of Mr. Snape, just then he walked into the room. He opened his mouth to say good morning when he was hit with a bullet of child as Harry hurtled into him and wrapped his arms around him. He returned the hug and the boy reluctantly pealed himself off of him when the growling in his stomach reminded him that it was time for breakfast.

They all clambered in and sat around the kitchen table filled with plates full off steaming pancakes. The adults were satisfied just watching Harry demolish an alarmingly high stack of pancakes for a while before they started on their own breakfast. Harry frowned when he saw the assortment of colorful potions in front of his plate. Swallowing his bite of pancakes he gave Severus puppy- dog eyes, "Do I _have_ to take the potions? They taste yucky and make my tummy hurt."

While Albus and Tucker would have certainly fallen for the display Severus did not. "First of all the potions do not make your stomach hurt and second of all yes you do have to take them because you are still scrawny and malnourished. And if you don't drink them now I will be forced to take away your treat."

Harry scowled at Mr. Snape, he was no fun. "Fine," he whined, "But I think I should get two pieces of chocolate because…" He was cut off by Severus's sharp look after which he quickly downed the potions. He made sure he wrinkled up his nose at the taste because he knew if he did that Professor Dumbledore would smuggle him a lemon drop and Mr. Tuck a chocolate frog.

Severus smiled internally at the boy's antics, deciding to let him get the extra reward from the old fools. Looks like Harry was much more cunning than Severus would have thought from someone with Gryffindor blood. He handed Harry the piece of chocolate.

He felt slight butterflies in his stomach at the thought of telling Harry what he and Albus had arranged that night. _You've been a double agent for Lord Voldemort_ , he told himself, _you can handle this_. Severus took a deep breath, "Harry I have something to talk to you about."

Harry straightened up, his smile disappearing off his face as he heard the seriousness in Severus's tone. "Yes?"

Severus felt like he might throw up from nerves. "Yesterday the Ministry officially handed over your guardianship to the Malfoys." Harry opened his mouth to tell Mr. Snape that he didn't want to stay with the Malfoys, he belonged here, but Mr. Snape cut him off, "Please, just listen before you ask any questions. Now, last night Mr. Malfoy witnessed one of your particularly violent nightmares and he agreed to turn over custody to me, however the Ministry would have never allowed that without another hearing on your behalf so Professor Dumbledore and I figured out a way to keep me as your guardian for good."

Severus summoned up the courage to continue, "According to the rest of the world Harry Potter died in an ambush from the Dark Lord last night that the Malfoys were unable to stop. From now on, you will be Benjamin Severus Snape, my son by blood."

Severus watched unreadable emotions flash across Harry's eyes as the room fell into silence. Harry opened his mouth, "I-." With that he burst into tears.

Albus, Tucker, and Minerva shared panicked glances and quickly excused themselves. Severus felt his heart freeze over as he struggled to comfort the boy- of course he didn't want to be his son- how could Severus have been so stupid? Severus stood up and walked around the table to the boy and was cut off from whatever he was about to say when Harry hurled himself into his arms, burying his sobbing face into Severus's robes.

Severus was so shocked by this sudden turn of events that he just pulled Harry close and let him cry. Finally the sobs started to subside and Severus pulled away slightly so he could see Harry's face. "What's wrong?" he asked, his mind pulling a complete blank.

"Wrong?" Harry choked out, "I- I-." He couldn't seem to get the words out and instead buried his face back into Severus taking deep breaths until he had regained control. Finally pushing himself away he looked up at Severus. "You really want to be my Dad?" he asked, his eyes filled with innocent vulnerability.

"Of course," Severus answered simply. Harry broke down into tears again but this time he was able to pull himself together much faster.

"So my name is Benjamin Severus Snape?"

Severus nodded, "Your birthday is still the same, July 31st. Your mother died in the first war, her name was Emily Murdock, a muggle born."

Harry thought over this new information for a moment. Severus watched the cogs roll in his head as another problem struck him. "Won't people be able to recognize me?"

Severus smiled, digging through his robes until his hand closed around the familiar bottle. He pulled out the small flask filled with deep red liquid. "That can be fixed permanently if you wish. If not a bit of polyjuice potion in your drink each morning should do the trick."

"How do I fix it permanently?"

Severus swirled the bottle around thoughtfully, "This is what is known as an inheritance potion. Mixed with the blood of one wizard and one witch it changes the genetic makeup of the drinker. One drink of this will not only alter your appearance so that you appear to be the offspring of myself and Emily Murdock, who did not die in the war but escaped to the Muggle World and cut off all ties with our kind, but it will also make your blood test as being our son."

Harry grinned widely, "That's wicked." He thought about it for a moment then added more seriously, "Then we can be a family in every way."

Severus nodded, certain that he would be unable to say anything if he opened his mouth at the moment. He handed Harry the vial, finally forcing out, "Are you certain?"

Harry gave him the most serious expression he had ever seen on a ten year old boy. "I want to be your son." He downed the potion in one gulp, feeling a strange warmth settle in his stomach as the tasteless liquid started to take its effect. Severus watched as before his eyes Harry started to morph.

His wild hair flattened and fell longer across his face. His pale skin grew darker into a slightly more tanned, healthier glow. His legs and arms grew as he filled out to make up for the sudden stretch in size. His nose turned slightly hooked and his ears grew. The last thing that changed was his eyes as the emerald faded into the light blue that Severus assumed came from Emily Murdock. Benjamin Severus Snape stood before him with a shy smile, "How do I look?"

Severus smiled, feeling tears well up in his eyes from pride and joy- this was his son. He cast a mirror charm on the wall. Ben examined himself exclaiming happily, "I'm taller!" He pulled back the now long bangs from his face and slowly approached the mirror, examining his forehead which still had a jagged scar running angrily down it. He sighed sadly, "I've still got that ruddy scar."

Severus muttered a disillusionment charm and watched as Ben gasped, turning to him excitedly "Is it gone?"

"It's just hidden for now."

Ben examined his forehead for a moment more and nodded in satisfaction. "Well that's good enough for me! Can I go show Mr. Tuck and Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall now?" He was practically bouncing with excitement.

"Go ahead."

Severus cleaned up the kitchen with a few cleaning spells as he heard the adults flock over Ben in the living room. He smiled as he heard Ben announce multiple times that he was Mr. Snape's son now and correct Minerva when she called him, "Harry." Once the excitement had died down a little Severus joined them in the living room.

Ben was sandwiched between the three adults on the couch jabbering excitedly about Hogwarts as Albus and Minerva told him about the ancient castle. Tucker grumbled "a bloody insane school," a couple times but was listening just as attentively as Ben (he had been crushed when he couldn't go to the school because of his inability to control his power and had only heard snippets about it from his older brothers).

They all fell silent when Severus sat in the armchair across from them, Ben's eyes shining when they landed on his new Dad. "We have to discuss the rest of Ben's schooling before he's ready for Hogwarts."

Ben's eyes immediately fell to the floor as he squirmed guiltily. He wanted to make his Dad proud but no matter how hard he tried it seemed that his magic was impossible to control. "Well I think making sand castles is out of the question," Tuck joked lightly.

When he saw Ben's face fall he added, "You'll be able to come back and do it eventually kiddo but with power like ours there isn't just one form that fits all. What worked for me isn't working for you so we'll just find something else." Ben nodded, still looking a little unsure. What else could help him?

"It seems to me that before Ha- I mean Ben can work on controlling his power he first needs to find a way to get over his past," Minerva suggested.

Severus thought about it- it seemed to make sense but how could the scars of almost 10 years of severe abuse be erased in a few months? And knowing what he knew about the connection between Ben and Voldemort it would be much harder for the boy to heal.

Ben kept his eyes fixed on the ground, his face flushed with embarrassment. He wasn't a baby, he could handle it himself. Of course his Dad saw right through this (his uncanny ability to read minds seemed to extend even when Ben wasn't making eye contact with him). "Ben there is no shame in getting help for trauma. Emotional scars run much deeper than any physical ones."

Ben looked around at the adults around him. None of them had a hint of laughter written on their faces- they didn't think he was a baby, didn't think he was a freak. They were sincere and they wanted to help. Ben relaxed and gave a hint of a smile, "All right."

"I know quite a few child psychologists," Albus told Severus brightly, "They are all wonderful people and are under an unbreakable vow to keep patient confidentiality so anything Ben says will be kept a secret."


	20. Chapter 20

AN: Not entirely happy with this chapter, but I tried my best. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites and I hope you enjoy! This is the third to last chapter before I take a monthish break to finish the next book so we're in the home stretch.

 **Chapter 20- Therapy**

It only took a few hours for Albus to pull the right strings and get Ben a good psychologist. So the next day that's where Ben found himself- in a small room with pale blue walls sitting across from his new therapist in a deep mahogany desk that shone with fresh polish.

Ben studied his feet diligently, wondering why the hell he had agreed to go here in the first place as Severus practically interrogated the therapist who held up against his harsh scrutiny quite well in Ben's opinion. Finally it seemed that Severus was satisfied that the psychologist wasn't just Voldemort in disguise because he squeezed Ben's shoulder and left, promising he'd be back in one hour.

One hour. What was the Ben supposed to talk about for one whole hour? Ben could feel the woman's eyes on him but he didn't look up until she spoke. "Hello Ben my name is Madame Pomfrey. Your Dad told me you've been having some problems, why don't you tell me about them?"

Ben met the kind eyes that were looking at him curiously. He struggled to answer her- what exactly was his problem? There were probably too many to go over in just one hour. Ben sighed, probably better to start with the reason he was there, the rest of the problems could wait. "I can't control my magic."

"What do you mean by that? You seem fine right now; do you have trouble controlling it in certain situations?"

Ben thought about it. "I guess… I guess when I'm really angry or upset or scared I can't control it. It just rises up and I'm not strong enough to hold it back."

Madame Pomfrey smiled comfortably at him. "That's perfectly normal for wizards your age. Your Dad tells me you have a lot of power, which makes it much harder for you."

Ben nodded; his therapist wasn't telling him anything Tuck hadn't already told him.

"Now I'm afraid I don't have much experience controlling surges of power." Ben's heart sunk. "But what I do have is experience in helping people control their emotions. If you don't get as upset you won't lose control, does that make sense?"

Ben nodded again, considering the new solution to his problem. It made just as much sense as Mr. Tuck's method, so he figured he would try it out.

"To do this, I have to know what made you upset, angry, or scared in the first place. Can you give me an example of one of these incidents?"

Ben froze up. Severus had told him he could trust Madame Pomfrey with anything, but he didn't want to. He was Benjamin Severus Snape now, a boy with a normal family living in a normal house with a completely ordinary life. A life that did not include abuse, murder, and jail. A life where he was not the boy who lived. Ben took a deep breath, calming the panicky feeling in his stomach. He had been foolish to think that just changing his identity would give him a new beginning. He had still been born Harry James Potter and he was going to have to face his past.

"Do you know who I am?" Ben asked in a defeated whisper.

"You are Benjamin Severus Snape, the son of Severus Tobias Snape who loves you dearly. If you really mean who you _were_ , then yes I know you were once Harry James Potter," Madame Pomfrey answered, her eyes bright. "I've also seen the memory as well as spoken to many children who have gone through what you have so nothing you can say will push me away or surprise me. I'm here as someone you can talk to, someone you can trust with everything, okay Ben?"

"But what if I don't want to talk about it?" The quiet question was filled with unspoken fear.

"We don't have to talk about it today," Madame Pomfrey promised. "Instead why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Ben looked a little unsure, "Well my Mom's name was Emily Murdock and she was muggle born…."

"No I mean tell me about _you_. Like what do you like to do? What's your favorite food? Color?" Madame Pomfrey cut him off gently.

Ben was a flabbergasted by this line of questioning. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Why what?"

"Why do you care?"

"Ben…." Madame Pomfrey was already having a hard time keeping her promise that nothing would surprise her. "This is what people do when they care about other people. They try to learn about them and they do that by asking questions."

"But why would you care about me if you don't even know me?" The doubt in his eyes was bordering on distrust.

"That's why I'm trying to get to know you. So tell me about yourself," Madame Pomfrey finished brightly.

"All… right. I guess I like the color green…. And silver's nice too, that's what my house is mostly made of- silver and green. I like it when Dad makes me pancakes. And sometimes he puts chocolate chips into them and makes it into a smiley face which is really funny."

Madame Pomfrey smiled as Ben rushed on excitedly, detailing his life with Severus. It was if he was entire different person when he talked about Severus, Albus, Minerva, and someone named "Mr. Tuck." Madame Pomfrey supposed it let him escape his past. Ben's new identity was more of a blessing than they had even originally anticipated.

A country away in a house in the center of a field a therapy of the same sort was taking place in a kitchen covered with bright yellow, dragon filled wallpaper. "I thought you brought me here to discuss Harry's past progress," Severus scowled.

"And I thought I was here merely for a cup of tea," said Albus, in a much lighter tone from across the table, "But alas, it seems as if Tuck has another idea in mind."

The man in question was leaning against the counter, regarding his two guests at the table with a smile. "You two have some differences to work out. I figured now was as good a time as any."

Severus stood, "As endearing as this is, I really do not have the time to…"

"Severus," Albus cut him off. "Please. Tucker is correct; we have held this discussion off for far too long."

Severus's eyes flared with barely repressed anger, "I have nothing to say to you."

"Do it for Ben. He needs to see that problems can be overcome. He needs to know that you can move on from this, just like he will one day be able to move on from his childhood," Tuck said.

Severus looked at Tuck for a long moment, finally letting out a long breath and sitting. "Leave us." Tuck exited the room, casting a privacy spell to give them some space.

"I'm so sorry my dear boy…"

"I don't want your apologies," Severus cut off the man in a hiss. "You took everything from me, and you promised, you _promised_ you would keep her safe."

Albus sighed. "I never would have thought…. Sirius Black of all people. He was the most loyal boy- it seemed like he would give his very life for Potter."

"He was a menace!" Severus roared. "How could you have trusted him- you knew what he had done- the pranks, the people he bullied, that goddamn wolf back in fifth year. He came from an entire family of death eaters!"

Albus' eyes were filled with sadness as he looked at Severus. "I didn't know," he said simply. "I couldn't have foreseen those events, and neither could you Severus. This was not your fault."

Severus was sent speechless by those words. Not his fault? He had told Voldemort the prophecy, had been the one to start his pursuit of the Potters.

Severus remembered that October 31st all too well. It was ingrained in his memory, a horror he would never forget. His mark had seared so he had gone to his master, flooing directly into the Lestrange's parlor. He had been waiting, and instantly Severus knew something was wrong.

He had only taken a step forward when he was hit with the cruciatis curse. The pain was unbearable- it felt like his bones were snapping, and his muscles were tearing, and the very blood flowing through his veins was burning with an agony so intense that all he could do was lay there and scream.

Through his screams he could hear the Dark Lord's laughter, a sickening sound. It had lost all traces of humanity long ago and was now the sound of a beast. He paused, just long enough so Severus could hear what he was saying. "You filthy little traitor, I should have known. You were always so attached to that mudblood, a blood traitor yourself. And you thought you could deceive me. You were wrong, and now you will pay- you and the mudblood."

The spell was cast and Severus writhed against the cold stone floor again, unable to breath everything hurt so bad yet all he could think about was Voldemort's words- Lily. He was going to attack Lily. Kill her.

But she's safe; a reassuring voice in the back of his head reminded him. Dumbledore had promised, and if any man could protect her from the Dark Lord it was him. No harm would come to her, or the child- Harry. With that thought Severus let the pain overtake him, letting his own consciousness drift away, become removed from everything.

When he slipped back to consciousness what felt like an eternity but was only a few minutes later it was to the sound of shouts and gleeful laughter. He felt a foot collide with his stomach and he doubled over, still feeling like his skin was burning. "Did you hear that, half-blood? We found her! That rat gave her up faster than you can say Gryffindor loyalty!" The Dark Lord laughed and Severus' heart sunk- no it wasn't possible, please no.

"In fact, I'm going to take you with me. So you can see her in her last moments, watch her beg for mercy. You chose the wrong side, Severus. And once I have taken everything from you, I will send your head as a trophy to that old man to show him what happens to spies." Hands heaved him upwards and soon he was standing, staring into the cold red eyes of his master.

They had apparated directly to the house in Godric's Hallow. Severus had been immobilized and floated helplessly behind Voldemort as the door was burst down. James Potter was the first to die. He fell fast, a shot of green light and he was still.

Severus was unable to move, unable to scream, hardly able to breath as they continues forwards into the house, shadows growing long on the darkened walls. The Dark Lord crept up the stairs, laughing as he heard muffled crying. "There's nowhere for you to hide Lily."

And then she was in the hallway, a fierce look blazing in her emerald eyes, her hair flaring out behind her. Her wand was still downstairs, sitting on the kitchen table. "Please, do anything you want to me, just please don't take my son. Don't hurt Harry…"

Her words were cut off by a cruciatis and she fell to the ground, screams filling the air as her body contorted in pain. And still, Severus was forced to watch, his eyes wide in horror as the pain overtook her. And then, just as suddenly as the last curse had been cast, a stream of green burst from Voldemort and Lily was still.

Severus' heart stopped at the same moment the woman who was his entire life did. She had died right before his very eyes. And there had been nothing he could do to stop it.

"Of course it was my fault," Severus finally bit back, shaking himself from his memories.

"You didn't know," Albus argued. "If you had known that the prophecy would lead to the Potters, you would have never reported it to him."

"It doesn't matter!" Severus shouted, feeling the rage threatening to overtake him, filling the gaping void he still felt every time he thought of her. "If I hadn't reported it, he would have never gone after them. They- Lily- would still be alive. Harry would have never met the Dursleys. Don't you see- everything is my fault!"

"My dear boy," Albus said, his voice demanding attention, "You were not the one to cast the curse. You were not the one who went to Godric's hollow that night and attempted to murder three innocent people. You were not the one who placed their trust in the wrong person. And you know, just as much as I, that the Longbottom's could have been chosen just as easily as the Potter's. Harry's story was written into fate long before you and I were even born to this planet, and I dare say that the choices of us mere mortals could hardly have changed a thing."

Silence filled the room for a long moment after Albus finished. Finally Severus broke it in a small, tired voice. "I was forced to watch. Lily's death. I had to watch it… and I couldn't move a single muscle."

"I know my dear boy, I know."

Two months had gone by but you would have thought it was a year by the rapid transformation of Severus's house.

What had once been a tidy if slightly dim place was now an explosion of disorganization and color that looked more fit for Tucker's house than Severus'. A new room had been added (with the help of Tuck's astonishing construction abilities) right next to Severus's giving Snape his old bed back. Ben's new room was filled with furniture and toys that just seemed to keep multiplying because Albus, Minerva, and Tucker brought one (or five) nearly every time they visited.

But perhaps what had undergone the most change was the boy who sat lying on the now carpeted floor playing a rather intense game of exploding snap with a wizard dressed in hot pink robes. It was getting late and every once in a while the boy would glance at the clock, looking slightly anxious for something before returning to the game with a mischievous grin as he blew up another one of Tuck's cards.

As soon as he heard the front door open Ben leapt up, leaving his cards abandoned on the floor as he ran to the door and threw himself at the man who walked through. Severus caught the boy into a hug. Ben had been doing this every time he returned from his job, Severus thought it would have gone away after he got over the novelty of having a real father to care for him but it hadn't (which was not something Severus was complaining about).

"How was work Dad?" Ben asked, dragging Severus into the living room where Tucker sat smirking at Severus. His newest form of entertainment was teasing Severus for being a "big softie." Severus tolerated it for now but only because he had a plan to wipe the smirk of his face.

"Long. You ready to go?" Ben nodded eagerly. "Now what do you say to Mr. Tucker?"

"Thanks for watching me Mr. Tuck I had tons of fun," Ben said brightly, hugging Tucker. He turned to Severus "Can we go now?"

"Of course." They walked over to the fireplace and flooed away leaving Tucker alone in their living room.

"Sure, don't mind me. I'll just show myself out," he muttered to the empty room with a smile and apparated away.

They arrived in the bright reception of Pomfrey's office and took chairs side by side as they waited for the previous patient to finish. While they waited Ben gave Severus a lengthy and excited description of what sounded like an exploding snap marathon that should have gone down in history. Behind the seemingly ordinary moves Severus could see that Ben had a strategy and that made him very proud. He was the son of a Slytherin now, after all.

The last patient walked out, smiling brightly when he saw Ben who had become nearly famous at the office as everyone loved the boy. "Bye Mr. Joe, have a nice day," Ben said to the man with his practiced adorable, sweet smile on.

Joe chuckled and looked at Severus. "What a sweet boy you've got there. You don't mind if I give him a little treat do you?"

Severus forced a tight lipped smile on his face, that manipulative little brat, "Of course."

The man pulled no less than a dozen chocolate frogs from the deep pockets of his robes and handed them to Ben, ruffling his hair that no longer half- covered his face thanks to a haircut from Minerva. "Thank you," Ben sang out gratefully, grinning mischievously at Severus who fell short of giving him a patronizing look. He had already devoured his first piece by the time Madame Pomfrey called him in.

He looked questioningly at Severus when he didn't move from the chair. "Go ahead. I believe Madame Pomfrey wishes to talk to you privately first."

Ben shrugged and walked into the office, swallowing his chocolate frog. "Hey Ms. Pomfrey."

"Hello Ben. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. It's my birthday tomorrow! I'm turning 11." He held up his two pointer fingers to illustrate this.

"I heard! Happy birthday! Now as you know this is our last meeting, I want to know if you have any questions before you go."

Ben shook his head. "I think I'm all good now."

"Yes you are," Madame Pomfrey responded proudly, watching her patient with appraising eyes for a moment. "Now I'll leave you with this- you have many people that love you now- your Dad, Mr. Tuck, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and even me. All of these people are willing to help you. If you have a problem, please go to one of them. Children are not meant to handle problems on their own; it's the adult's job to care for them. That being said, I do think you are ready."

"Thank you for everything. I- I'm really grateful I had you to help me out." Ben smiled shyly at Madame Pomfrey who suddenly pulled him into a big hug.

"I'm going to miss you, you little rascal. No go get your father so we can discuss a few things." Ben pulled back with a grin and scurried out of the room to fetch Severus. Pomfrey dabbed away tears as he entered.

Severus cleared his throat awkwardly, not at all prepared to deal with a crying witch. "Your boy is a wonderful person, you know that Severus?"

Severus nodded and smirked, "Yes he does seem to persuade people of that."

"You've done well with him," Pomfrey said with a sad smile, "I don't think you realize how much you helped him heal, he's an entirely different boy now."

Severus squirmed. "Yes, well I didn't help him alone." Severus studied the wall as Pomfrey looked at him with such pride. Finally he had to break the silence, "Is there a reason you called me in here?"

Madame Pomfrey either didn't notice or ignored his tone. "You are a wonderful man, Severus, taking in the child even when you know as well as I do what is part of him... what he is capable of. I'm afraid that Voldemort's grasp over him will only grow with age. He will need your help to constantly remind him who he really is. You need to be there for him Severus no matter what the circumstances, no matter how much it hurts." She cast a meaningful glance at his arm; she was perfectly aware how much it could hurt.

"I will," Severus said with an intensity that left no doubt that he meant what he said.

"I know you will," Madame Pomfrey said with a proud smile, "However, helping him will become beyond even your own ability at some point. When that time comes all you need to do is ask Severus."

Severus nodded, "Thank you."

"No thank you, that boy is finally getting the life he deserves. His treatment with me is done, but I suggest the next person he sees is Professor McGonagall."

"Minerva? She already comes over frequently and watches Ben."

"I have already discussed it with Minerva. There is something she can give him that neither of us are able to. Now go take Ben home, it's a big day tomorrow."

Severus stood. "Thank you again. You've helped my son a lot."

"Think nothing of it. Now go!" Pomfrey herded Severus out of her room and watched with a forlorn smile as Ben greeted him eagerly and they left through the fireplace. He deserved so much, but Pomfrey knew Ben's life could only be filled with danger and pain. Just like Severus, he was marked and the Dark Lord was never going to let them go. Madame Pomfrey sighed- no, the lives of Severus and Benjamin Snape were not going to be easy.


	21. Chapter 21

AN: When Microsoft word wants to change your "goblin who was…" to "goblin that was…" and make you sound like a wizard supremacist asshole. Smh, Microsoft word. Anyway, as always I loved your feedback and support; a million thanks are sent your way. Second to last chapter!

 **Chapter 21- A Birthday Surprise**

It was five o'clock in the morning on Saturday July 31st and everyone in the rural town a few hours out of London was lying fast asleep. That is everyone except a raven haired, pale blue eyed boy who sat in bed wide awake, practically trembling with excitement.

Today was his birthday, the first birthday in his memory that he had ever looked forward to. At the Dursley's the birthday beatings made him pray that his birthday was just forgotten, but this time around he knew it wouldn't be forgotten. And this time instead of getting a fist to the stomach he was getting actual, real presents. Needless to say, Ben had been looking forward to this for a while.

Ben watched the clock tick by for a while, forcing himself to stay in bed. He swore that time must be moving slower than normal. At 5:18 he gave up and tiptoed out of bed. He started playing with random toys on his ground- a game of self-playing wizards chess, a mini quidditch arena, and his favorite a potions kit from Severus (which sadly contained nothing that could cause an explosion).

He played with everything for a little bit and then looked back at the clock. It was 5:25. Ben gave an outraged squeak- he thought he had waited at least a half an hour! His clock was definitely broken. Despairingly he threw himself back into his soft, deep blue bed and stared up at the ceiling which had been bewitched to show twinkling stars.

As Ben stared up at it he couldn't help but smile. He remembered the day it had been put in. It was the day after he had officially became Benjamin Severus Snape and they had spent all day shopping at Diagon Alley to make up his new room. By the time they had returned Ben had been exhausted and greatly overwhelmed from his first experience with a fully- magical town.

He guessed he hadn't realized how tired he was because when the adults suggested that they go outside to the backyard in the warm summer evening Ben insisted he go along. He had fallen asleep almost instantly as he gazed up at the millions of tiny, shimmering stars blanketing the velvet sky. He had awoken briefly as Severus carried him back to his room- a room that was entirely his own.

He had laid Ben gently on the bed, pulling the charmed- for- softness blankets over him. Ben had been groggy and half asleep and had said, "I wish I could fall asleep to the stars every night." The next day he had opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a perfectly preserved night sky with stars twinkling just as brightly even in the morning light.

Now, as Ben stared up at his ceiling he was filled with the same sense of warmth he had felt that day. He had a family who cared about him enough to put stars on his ceiling simply because he asked. He, Ben Snape, had the best Dad in the entire world and he could wait the extra hour for said Dad to wake up and make him breakfast. Ben drifted off into a light sleep with the soft smile still fixed on his face.

Severus was halfway through cooking breakfast (pancakes with extra chocolate chips formed into a perfectly crafted smiley face) when Ben with a mop of messy hair came hurtling into the room. "I'm 11!" he shouted joyfully at Severus as greeting and sat down at the table. "When is everyone coming over?!"

Severus smiled, "Happy birthday, son. They should all be here in about a half an hour."

He stacked a plate sky high with pancakes and placed them in front of the enthusiastic boy who had devoured them in an alarmingly small amount of time. "Now I have your first birthday gift to give you before Tucker, Albus and Minerva arrive."

Ben beamed at him, "What is it?!" Severus watched Ben's face fall as he saw the assortment of potions being summoned in with a small smirk. "Erm… thanks," Ben forced out, sounding very ungrateful.

Severus couldn't help but letting out a snort of laughter. "The potions themselves are not the present."

"Do I get double the chocolate?" Ben cut in with the bright smile returning.

"No- well I mean yes you do but that's not the present."

Ben looked confused, "Do I get better tasting potions?"

"No…"

"Or potions that give me special abilities?!"

"No! Just listen, the present is that this is the last day you will have to take any of these potions."

Ben's smile with that news was blinding. He launched himself at Severus and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best birthday ever!"

"That isn't your only present."

"It's not?" Ben asked with his eyes wide.

"Just drink your potions," Severus snapped back, his fond smile taking out all the bite. Ben smiled back and chugged all the potions in record timing. He looked expectantly up at Severus who dished out the two pieces of jumbo sized milk chocolate bars which Ben accepted gratefully.

Just then a tawny barn owl swooped in through the open kitchen window and dropped a letter on Ben's head. It flew back out with a joyous hoot. Ben took the letter off his head looking mystified at the yellow parchment addressed with dark green ink. "I got a letter," he said in shock, staring at the neatly printed words "Benjamin Severus Snape, Number 133 Hemming's Way, The Biggest Bedroom." Ben looked up mystified at Severus who smiled brightly back at him.

"This is your second present. Go ahead, open it."

Ben delicately tore open the top of the envelope with trembling fingers, pulling out a letter written on the same yellow parchment. He unfolded the letter and read aloud to Severus.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Snape,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Ben stared at the letter for a moment before a huge smile broke over his face. "I got in!"

"Of course you got in; you're practically related to the headmaster and deputy headmistress. Speaking of which, I think they've arrived."

Sure enough they heard a knocking at the door. Ben ran to the entrance with the letter in hand, ripping the door open with the exclamation of, "Look what I got!"

"Happy birthday!" chorused the three beaming guests outside and looked with forced interest (and jealously in Tucker's case) at Ben's letter as he babbled on about how excited he was to go to Hogwarts. Severus had to practically pull the boy aside to let the guests enter.

Ben gushed on in excitement until Severus forced him to go get ready for their trip to Diagon Alley, leaving the four adults to talk.

"He seems quite excited," Minerva commented.

"It is his first real birthday, I think his response is quite normal," Tucker said saving Severus from having to a respond.

"I think it's brilliant," Albus said beaming, "I've never seen a pupil more excited to go to Hogwarts, you're going to have to look after him closely when he's in your house Minerva."

"Oh I will," she said chuckling as at the same time Severus retorted, "Your house? You really think Ben will be in Gryffindor?"

Tucker bit back a smile as Albus and Minerva turned to Severus with looks of genuine horror. "Where else would he be?"

"My house," Severus answered easily, "He is a Slytherin if I ever saw one."

Albus literally gasped at the thought and Minerva turned an odd shade of green. "He will not! James and Lily were the very pinnacle of Gryffindor house, Ben belongs there."

"You seem to be forgetting that Lily and James are no longer Ben's parents," Severus said with a proud smirk, "I am."

Tucker sighed, "As entertaining as this all is, I believe young Ben is ready and would prefer to have his birthday spent with more useful matters than arguing about silly house rivalries." Especially considering Ben's patronus- he fit each house just as well, so it was a rather circular argument.

The three of them looked guilty. "They aren't silly," Minerva muttered but ended the conversation nevertheless.

"I'm sure whatever house you're put in will be just fine," Tucker told Ben, ignoring the glares shot his way by the three other adults. "Now I am quite ready for Florean Fortescue's Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream, so what do you say we get a move on?"

They spent the day shopping (and eating ice cream). With four wizards the shopping was done in record time and soon Ben had his robes, books, potion supplies, and many other things that weren't on the list that Severus insisted he buy. Ben had at first protested on the price but Severus had quickly waived it off ("It's a father job to support his child financially.") Besides, Albus had under- the- table transferred the large sum of gold in Harry's vault to Severus after explaining the situation to a goblin who was sworn to secrecy, so money was not a problem.

Ben unfurled his list, mentally checking off everything they had already bought. "Alright so now all I need is a pet and a wand." He looked up at Severus, "What should I get first?"

"Let's go to Ollivander's first." The group trekked over to the tiny wand shop and crowded into the small room. Ben jumped as a man- he assumed Mr. Ollivander- popped out from behind a giant stack of wands and fixed his milky eyes on them.

His stare was strangely unsettling, although Ben couldn't determine exactly why. He went through the room, stating each of their wands except for Tucker who'd received a family wand and then his eyes fixed on Ben. He stared at him for a moment, "Benjamin Snape. I was wondering when you might show up."

Ben glanced nervously back at the frail man, "Errr… Well I'm here I guess."

Ollivander finally broke his gaze from Ben's and started rooting through the large stacks of haphazardly piled wands. He pulled out a thin, gray, dusty case and brought it over to the counter. He pulled out the long, knobbed wand delicately, like he was cradling a baby and handed it tip facing towards him to Ben.

Ben had no sooner touched the wand before Ollivander grabbed it crying, "No, no," in an alarmingly distressed voice. He snatched another wand and handed it to Ben, this time letting him give it a wave. A large fireball shot out from the tip, blowing up a stack of wands and sending them flying everywhere. Ollivander shouted in alarm and quickly extinguished the flames with an auguamente.

Ollivander slowly slipped the wand out of Ben's grasp who looked guiltily at the scorch marks on the wall.

"Something that can contain more power, perhaps?" Ollivander muttered to himself and dug through more piles, throwing random boxes of wands aside until he found one he liked. He handed it to Ben warning him, "Don't do anything with it. Just stand there."

Ben held it carefully, keeping his right hand still as he could. Ollivander closed his eyes for a moment, a searching look on his face before he shook his head, "No that's not right either." The stack of discarded wands quickly multiplied until they were spilling off the counter. Ollivander didn't seem discouraged by this; in fact he seemed excited by the challenge. Digging through a new pile of wands he paused whispering to himself, "I wonder…"

He walked back to the counter and reached under it to pull out a black velvet box with intricate carvings running along it. "This is the wand that contains the most power in this store," he said ominously as he popped open the box, "It is also… Well how about you try it out first."

Olivander picked up the wand delicately, shivering slightly as he felt the raw power emanating off of it. Not unlike the feeling young Mr. Snape had projected when he entered the shop. He handed it carefully to Ben, gasping as he felt the sudden change in the room when it touched Ben's hand.

Ben felt a rush of exalting energy run through him as his hand closed around the polished, thin wand. He inhaled sharply as his own magic rushed out to meet the power in the wand. They clashed angrily for a quick second and then suddenly they mixed. Ben let out a breath as a rush of euphoria hit him at the feeling of his magic mixing. He felt stronger, more pure.

Ollivander whistled under his breath, "I don't think I have ever felt a reaction quite like that Mr. Snape." Ben barely heard him as he flexed his wand hand experimentally, staring at his new wand in wonder. "The wand is clearly meant for you, which is very curious, very curios indeed."

He stared at Ben intently, as if searching for some prominent sign before continuing, "The wand you are holding has a core of phoenix feather. Each wand I make is unique, but yours is especially unique as the very phoenix that gave that feather only gave one other. Very curious indeed that its twin belongs to who many consider the darkest wizard ever- yes the other belonged to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Ollivander pierced Ben with a sharp gaze, "I think we can expect great things from you Mr. Snape- after all You Know Who did great things- terrible things- but great nevertheless."

Ben felt a prickle of fear at the thought that the very man that had killed his parents and almost killed him shared a twin core with him, but it was quickly pushed aside with the feeling of sheer power and control the wand gave him. Ollivander stared at him for a moment longer, looking like a scientist studying a particularly interesting specimen until Severus cleared his throat loudly.

"We really must be moving on, Mr. Ollivander," he said coldly, "How much for the wand?"

Ollivander broke his gaze away from Ben. "Hm? Oh that will be 11 galleons." They paid for the wand and then walked silently to Ben's last destination- Magical Menagerie to buy his familiar.

"Wands are wicked," Ben told the group with a grin as he entered the store. The crowd in Diagon Alley was starting to thin out as it was approaching dinner time. The adults numbly nodded at him, their minds still whirring over what had happened in Ollivander's.

Severus was the first to break out of it and gently guided Ben away from the other three, "So what kind of pet were you thinking of getting?"

Ben was immediately drawn to one of the animals that was not on the list- the snake cages. He smiled hugely as he saw a giant cobra that must be seven feet long and thick enough to swallow a cat whole (and the sign said it was only a few months old). "What are you smiling about?" Snape asked.

Ben turned back to him, looking like he had just noticed Severus was there. "She just called you a bat that stank of potion fumes." He giggled and turned back to the snake and over the din of screeching owls and meowing cats Severus could just make out the hissing sound coming from Ben.

Severus sighed; he really should have learned not to be surprised of anything involving Ben. "You can speak to snakes?"

Ben apparently finished hissing his sentence to the snake because he turned back distractedly to Snape, "Yeah." Suddenly he looked worried, "Why? I thought everyone could."

Severus shook his head, "No, it is a talent that very few people have. I think it would be best to keep it a secret for now." Ben nodded obediently looking back at the snake and suddenly letting out another fit of giggles.

"What is it now?" Severus asked, greatly exasperated.

"She just said Tuck looked like a giant pygmy puff." Severus looked at their brightly dressed companion and couldn't help but snickering. He couldn't disagree with the snake there.

Ben suddenly turned his puppy- dog eyes on Severus and he knew he was in trouble. "Dad can I keep her, pleeaaasssee," he whined, "I promise I'll take care of her and everything. After all you only turn 11 once." He flashed Severus with the most innocent, obliviously manipulative smile Severus had ever seen.

Severus sighed- this boy would be the death of him. "Fine." Ben let out a little cheer which he cut off with a glare, "But you are not to share your parselmouth abilities with anyone, discounting Tucker, Dumbledore, McGonagall and myself, understand?" At Ben's confused look he added, "Parselmouths have the ability to speak to snakes."

"Ohhh, yeah of course, I pinky promise I will never tell anyone else." He connected pinkies with Severus to seal the deal and then ran over to the other three adults to tell them the joyous news. Severus walked over to the shop keeper with a resigned sigh; he was now apparently the owner of a giant cobra as well as a boy who most likely contained the Dark Lord inside him. Why couldn't he just have an ordinary life?

They returned to Severus's house at 6 with a greatly shrunken truck filled with school supplies, a new wand, and a new snake curled up in a cage who Ben had named "Silvia." (He had insisted that was the closest translation to her real name, which he had told the greatly overwhelmed adults in Parsletongue as well.)

Ben rushed to his room to put away his new belongings and make his new snake comfortable. By the time he returned the table was staggering under the weight of giant steaming platters of all his favorite foods provided by house elves Albus had summoned from Hogwarts. The group of five had quite a feast, eating until they were ready to burst. When the last scraps had been cleared from all the plates the platters disappeared with a pop and were replaced instantly by a dessert bar made entirely of chocolate.

Ben's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he made the impossible decision of whether to start with triple- chocolate fudge cake or chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips swirled in topped with hot fudge. He decided to start with a little bit of everything. The food disappeared fast.

As the adults watched Ben dig in with amusement Albus, Minerva, and Tuck shared a meaningful look. Albus cleared his throat. "Ben, as you know you will be going to Hogwarts in a few months."

Ben swallowed a large bite of frosting covered chocolate cake and nodded. Albus continued, "The last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is currently… disposed with something so we were wondering how you would feel if Tucker became your new teacher."

Ben flashed an amazed smile at Tucker, "That would be awesome!"

Albus's eyes twinkled, "It's decided then."

All too soon dessert was over and Ben started to feel his eyes drooping after the ginormous meal he had just eaten and the busy day they had just had. He stifled a yawn that was not missed by Severus who smiled softly. "Ben why don't you go to bed, we can open the rest of your presents tomorrow?"

Ben couldn't stifle his next yawn. "I have more presents?"

Severus nodded, "Why don't you say goodnight to your guests and then I can tuck you in?" He ignored Tucker's barely muffled snicker.

Ben was too tired to protest. He hugged Tucker, Minerva, and Dumbledore and mumbled, "Good night, thanks for everything."

Severus guided him gently to his bed. Ben collapsed into it immediately. "Good night, son," Severus whispered and kissed Ben on the forehead smiling as Ben's breathing evened out and he fell into a deep sleep.

He returned to his kitchen where his three friends stood, ready to leave. "Thank you all for coming. Minerva, can you stay for a little bit I wish to speak with you about something."

Albus and Tucker took that as their cue to leave and apparated back to their houses. Minerva took a seat, knowing exactly what Severus wanted to discuss. She didn't even wait for him to ask the question, "Madame Pomfrey wants me to teach Ben how to be an animagus." Minerva cast a muffling spell just in time as, just as she expected, Severus exploded.

"What would that do? Becoming an animagus is dangerous even for full grown wizards, Ben may have power but that does not change the fact that he is only 11. Not only that, knowing what his animagus will be it would be a huge risk of exposure to the rest of the world. If anyone found out he was a wolf the press would go insane. He would be even more famous than he was as Harry Potter, which is one of the reasons we changed his identity in the first place. It is a ridiculous idea."

Minerva calmly waited for his rant to finish. Once he trailed off she told him in a leveled voice, "Pomfrey believes it might help remove him from the control of Voldemort, if even only for a little while. She believes that whatever power Voldemort has over Ben will not be able to be maintained in a foreign form. I've done my research and I believe she may be right."

Severus let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Are you certain it will help?"

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have asked."

Severus nodded reluctantly, giving in, "Alright. You can start Monday; I believe you are scheduled to watch over the boy that day anyway."

"There's another thing," Minerva hesitated. "Pomfrey believed it would be beneficial to have someone else learn to become an animagus with Ben; it would help him learn it while reassuring him it is not a sign that he is a freak."

She sighed when she saw Severus's dull eyes, he clearly wasn't getting it. "She suggested you."

"What?!"


	22. Chapter 22

AN: Last chapter! I cannot thank you enough for all the support you've given this story. It means a lot to me. Check back in about a month and I will begin posting the second installment of the series. Also feel free to review with any suggestions for the next book, most of it is written at this point but I've still got a lot of editing to do so all suggestions will be taken into account.

 **Chapter 22- The Beasts Inside**

"This is stupid," Severus muttered under his breath, ignoring the glare he earned from McGonagall and the conspiratorial smile he earned from Ben.

"This is how you become an animagus," Minerva hissed angrily at him, "Now focus on the attributes of a fox in your head- picture it running around, feel what it feels, see what it sees. Mr. Snape you do the same with a wolf."

Ben took a deep breath and focused, the image of a sleek gray wolf running through his mind. It ran through the trees- Ben could feel the thorns tearing at his fur, he could smell the fresh dew on the leaves and the scent of animals long gone, he could feel the soft earth below his rough pads.

"Now focus on your left hand and transfer that image of a paw," Minerva's voice drifted in from what sounded like miles away. Ben slitted his eyes open and stared at his hand, slowing pushing the magic into it until it tingled with unused energy.

He focused of the feel of his paw on the damp forest floor- the razor sharp claws digging into the earth, the pads balancing his weight evenly, every sensation until he saw his hand start to waver below his gaze. This is the first time he had seen any results and Ben gasped in excitement. He pushed more power into his hand, focusing his entire being on the transformation. His hand started to warp, silver-gray fur covering it as it shrunk and curved into a large, perfectly shaped paw.

Ben was so excited that he lost focus and the paw snapped back into its original form. He shook out his hand, staring at in wonder, "That felt weird," he said with a small laugh. "But it was sooo awesome."

He looked at Severus, "Now you try."

Severus sighed, feeling stupid as he closed his eyes and focused on the fox. He didn't even need to open his eyes, he felt the transformation occurring. When it felt complete he opened his eyes and studied the small paw that was once his hand. It was about half the size of Ben's- still large for a fox. It was covered in orange-brown fur. Severus let it transform back looking back at Minerva to find her beaming radiantly at them.

"You two are the fastest students I've ever had!" she told them happily. "I believe that next time you both should be able to pull off a full animagus, although it will take practice to be able to spend any measurable amount of time as one. For the next couple of days just let your cores replenish and keep those mental images of your animals. Well done!"

Ben and secretly Severus could hardly wait until the next lesson. That day they waited rather impatiently for Minerva to arrive as it was a Saturday and Severus had nothing better to do. They attempted to play some wizard chess but both of them were so distracted that their pieces gave up and marched off the board (Severus had found that Ben's set was rather touchy and tended to throw fits if the game wasn't played correctly).

Finally Minerva flooed in (right on time) and Ben flocked her at the fireplace. "Can we transform now?"

"I've never seen a student so eager to be in my class," Minerva said half- jokingly. "I don't see why not; just remember that mental picture in your head."

Ben closed his eyes and recalled the image which had become second-nature by now as he had thought of little else over the past few days. He focused hard, and felt the shimmering, morphing feeling fall over his body. When he opened his eyes he opened his eyes as a wolf.

Severus watched Ben's transformation with interest. As soon as Ben had finished with no incidents Severus called forward his own mental images. He transformed into a beautiful, large orange fox. He looked up with light brown eyes into the own golden ones of Ben.

Ben raised his tail in greeting, wagging it a little in happiness. He let out an experimental yelp, seeming to surprise himself with the noise. Then he sat back and let out a howl that rang eerily through the house. He really was a beautiful wolf- his silver coat gleamed in the daylight. As animaguses followed the wizard's age the wolf was still young. The last notes of the howl faded from the air and Ben lowered his head, gazing around the room and taking in how different everything looked from these eyes. But there was also something else.

Ben hadn't realized it when he had first transformed but something in him had changed. He didn't know how, but he knew that this wasn't simply a result of his transformation. Although an animagus often had different thoughts and behaviors than its owners it did not severely transform their personality like this.

Ben felt something missing from himself- a different side to himself that came out very rarely, but every time it did it left Ben with a scared and unsettled feeling. It simply felt dark and although Ben felt empty without it he found he didn't miss this other part to him. This was the part that had taken over when he had attacked Dumbledore and back when he destroyed Tucker's house. It didn't cause a defensive mechanism like the rest of him did- it caused a destructive mechanism, one that sought out pain.

Ben padded around the room, thinking about this. He nearly crashed into the wall when he tried to run on the slippery tile so he stuck to a brisk walk. He felt his magic draining rapidly but he didn't want to leave, not yet, not while that feeling was gone for the first time in his life.

The fox meanwhile could run and was taking full advantage of his smaller size and agility. Severus sprinted around the room leaping on and off furniture and growling at Minerva when she gave him a disapproving look. He too felt free of his Master, but to a lesser extent because Voldemort had never had as strong a grip on him.

Severus quickly bored of running around and got another more entertaining idea. He quickly found the wolf who was pacing the living room, brooding about something. Severus decided he needed to change that. He flattened himself to the ground, using his innate stalking abilities to creep towards his victim. Ben was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the smaller beast slowly sneaking up on him until it was too late.

Severus launched himself at Ben, hitting him hard enough in the side to knock him off balance. Ben scrambled for purchase on the floor and fell with a loud crash, rolling over to pin the fox who quickly wriggled out of his grasp. Ben let out a happy yelp and chased the fox down the hall, knocking over an assortment of objects.

The wolf might be bigger but the fox was faster and he quickly hurtled into safety under the kitchen table. Ben didn't even bother to stop as he flew into the kitchen, knocking chairs out of the way. He grabbed the fox lightly on the scruff of his neck and pulled him out. The two continued to play fight until their energy was completely drained. They turned back at almost the exact same time and dissolved into laughter.

Minerva was tempted to check if the two of them were cursed when she saw them having a laughing fit on the kitchen floor. They managed to calm themselves down under her strict gaze but had to turn away from each other to prevent themselves from cracking up again. "Nicely done, both of you. I believe my job here is done- just keep on practicing and you'll be able to keep that form for as long as you wish."

Ben composed himself and stood, hugging Minerva tightly, "Thank you Professor. That was… I mean… I just feel good as a wolf you know?"

Minerva smiled, "Animagus have an odd way of bringing out the best in their owners. Now behave, I won't see you until you enter Hogwarts in three days. I expect you to keep out of trouble at school, understood?"

Ben fixed a serious expression on his face and nodded vigorously, "Yes ma'am."

Once she was satisfied with Ben she turned to Severus, "You make sure he keeps out of trouble."

Severus nodded, "I'll do my best."

Minerva sighed, "I have a feeling this is going to be a long year." She had no idea how correct that statement would be.

 **Stay tuned: See more of Benjamin Severus Snape in the next installment of The Twisted Magic Series:** **The Power of Two** **.** **vingd that baths ay the angersleep at the moment but inetly pleasant water enveloped him. He decided that baths ay the angers was he Sevingd that baths ay the angersleep at the moment but inetly pleasant water enveloped him. He decided that baths ay the anger**


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